Tuesday February 15th from 10 AM – 8 PM & Wednesday February 16th from 10 AM – 8 PM
Join us in our office courtyard for our in person book sale. We will have lots of pre-loved books for sale, all subjects and in lots of different languages.
All proceeds go to providing free and safe surgery to children with cleft conditions.
Payment by cash or card.
Tuesday January 18th from 10 AM – 8 PM & Wednesday January 19th from 10 AM – 8 PM
Join us in our office courtyard for our in person book sale. We will have lots of pre-loved books for sale, all subjects and in lots of different languages.
All proceeds go to providing free and safe surgery to children with cleft conditions.
Payment by cash or card.
Tickets 155 AED per person
Join Cafe De La Paix and Operation Smile UAE for an evening of painting. Included in the ticket price – individual art kit with canvas, acrylic paints and paint brushes; guided instruction from an artist; a selection of beverages and snacks.
Date Sunday, November 7
Time 5pm – 8pm
Venue Cafe De La Paix, Corniche, Abu Dhabi
Ticket 155 AED
Contact : Operation Smile UAE
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +971 2 658 4790
PAYMENT CONFIRMATION
REFUND & CANCELLATION POLICY
QUESTIONS ? Email [email protected]
PHONE +971 02 658 4790
Every moment has been a surprise for Rachelle since the birth of her first born son: Deron.
Deron, a beautiful and energetic 2 year old, began an unexpected journey in Rachelle’s life. Looking forward to a normal pregnancy, Rachelle never saw the challenges coming her way. All her prenatal scans had shown up normal, with almost no indication of a cleft or an extra chromosome.
Even though cleft conditions were not unknown to Rachelle, as her cousin’s daughter and neighbours had cleft conditions; it was never discussed nor talked about. “We don’t talk about it much because we might hurt the family, the mother if you talk about why they have this or why they have that”, Rachelle said.
‘Everything was a surprise to us, with the cleft and the extra chromosome’, recalled Rachelle.
Deron alongside his cleft condition was also born with down syndrome. Rachelle expressed that as a first time mother she refused to believe that this had happened. ‘I was in denial’, she said.
Prior to Deron, Rachelle had everything planned and stuck to a certain routine with little flexibility. But now things had changed. The expectations that she had set for herself and her first born had shifted.
When Deron was born, he had to stay in the NICU(neonatal intensive care unit) for a few more days for further observation making it even harder for Rachelle to absorb. Her worries revolved around how he would be accepted by those surrounding him, Rachelle would wonder, ‘How is he going to be embraced by the people around him(when he grows up)?’
It was through this journey that the support of her family and especially her husband had really come through. ‘He’s(her husband) very supportive when it comes to everything’, Rachelle said fondly.
Eventually she was able to welcome Deron as he is. ‘I was able to overcome the fear that I might not be able to give him the life he needs’, revealed Rachelle.
Rachelle and her husband, Donnie had begun their research into the condition and organizations that might help Deron and answer any questions they had, and that’s when they came across Operation Smile. They immediately sent across an email and soon became part of the UAE June 2021 mission.
Although this was not Derons first surgery- his previous being to repair his soft palate- Rachelle was still anxious and nervous. When Deron came out of surgery all Rachelle wanted to do was hold Deron. ‘I wanted to hug him tight, but I knew I had to compose myself.’, said Rachelle.
Deron sparked a new beginning for Rachelle to grow as a person, learning from all from her experiences. ‘When I had Deron I became very patient, I matured in a sense’, recalled Rachelle. She realised that life was too short to be spent constantly worrying, but rather to embrace every moment by taking a step back and understanding what her son needs.
Today, Deron is a very happy boy, always expressing himself and developing into a strong and receptive person. Although his journey in facing the world has only begun, the growing social media presence in the world today makes Rachelle a little more confident that Deron’s extra chromosome won’t stop him from being accepted into society.
When asked to say a few final words, Rachelle said, ‘I’m very thankful and I’ll be forever grateful to each and everyone because without the organization it wouldn’t have been easy for us.’
After months of prayers, two nights in labour, and 35 minutes before her mother’s birthday ended, baby Khadija arrived. This baby was indeed special.
As Aishabi held her precious baby, many questions swam in her head: Would the baby be fine? How will we feed her? Will the gap in the roof of her mouth heal on its own?
This baby had been the talk for months. Her brothers couldn’t wait to meet her and she already had her dad wrapped around her little finger. The pre-natal scans didn’t indicate anything to be concerned about and everything had gone smoothly. Even at birth, things seemed normal. The pediatrician had given them a positive response after the routine checkup.
“But she [Khadija] wasn’t drinking my breast-milk. She was crying a lot. The nurse took the baby to change her and the baby kept crying. That’s when the nurse saw the cleft palate,” said Aishabi.
At the time, Aishabi and her husband Abdul Haleem knew little to nothing about cleft conditions. No one in their family had a cleft either. Some relatives suggested that picking up a knife during a solar eclipse may have been the cause. But Aishabi and Abdul Haleem shrugged it all away and focused on their precious newborn.
The initial few months were the toughest for the family. Like all babies with cleft conditions, Khadija too had trouble being fed. Aishabi recalled nights where the baby cried throughout, falling asleep in the morning out of exhaustion.
The pandemic also meant that Abdul Haleem and Aishabi couldn’t rely on their family, who were all back home in India, for support.
“I cried a lot. I needed my mother, at least,” recalled Aishabi.
Amidst all of the uncertainty at home and out in the world, Aishabi embarked upon hours of Google searches. One day while surfing on the internet about the surgical procedures to treat cleft palates, Aishabi stumbled upon Operation Smile UAE.
“I told my husband to contact them. I saw that they had done surgeries before and thought that we could also have a chance. He emailed and alhamdulillah*, they replied immediately,” explained Aishabi.
However, at the time, medical missions in the UAE had been suspended due to COVID-19. The one step they had taken towards surgery seemed to be a step backwards.
“But they always stayed in touch with me. They made us comfortable and told us that they will do [Khadija’s] surgery,” Aishabi’s voice softened as she told her story.
Aishabi took it day by day, and with her husband’s and sons’ love and support, things started falling into place slowly. After a long wait, Abdul Haleem and Aishabi found out that their daughter was eligible for surgery in the June 2021 medical mission at Healthpoint. Khadija, along with her mom and dad, travelled to Abu Dhabi.
Baby Khadija spent time with her dad in the waiting room as they waited to be called into the operating room. After this, only Aishabi would be by Khadija’s side. Because of COVID, only one parent was allowed to be with the patient after surgery.
“It was very difficult for him [Abdul Haleem]. I know he was hurting. ” Aishabi said.
Aishabi counted the seconds and minutes to meet her daughter again. As soon as she saw Khadija after the surgery, she was overwhelmed by so many emotions. When asked how she felt after seeing Khadija, Aishabi chuckled, ”I can’t explain. It was very difficult. My tears wouldn’t stop.”
Her big brothers are even more ecstatic to meet their sister.
“You know, they are calling me every half an hour. [They say:] Amma, we want to come to Khadija. They love her so much,” laughed Aishabi.
Aishabi ended with a message to other parents who may be going through a similar experience.
“Don’t lose hope. It’s not something bad. All babies are the same, just a little different.”
Alhamdulillah: an Arabic phrase that translates to “praise be to God”.
One experience for a certain volunteer, sparked the beginning of a new relationship between Operation Smile and Healthpoint.
After volunteering as an anesthesiologist at a mission in another hospital, Dr. Philipp knew he wanted to involve his own hospital- Healthpoint, a Mubadala Health Partner- with Operation Smile.
“After my approval and a successful mission at CCAD, I asked our medical management if they would be interested in providing the medical facilities for an Operation Smile mission.”
Volunteering had been a part of Dr. Philipp’s life for as long as he can remember, working as a paramedic on multiple occasions in Cologne, Germany. He also volunteered as a firefighter for 8 years in Germany.
“I experience the work as a volunteer as very satisfying. It reminds me that I chose this path of profession not for financial but humanitarian reasons. It gives me meaning to help others in need.”
Dr. Philipp’s enthusiasm and passion opened a gateway for a collaboration for Operation Smile with Healthpoint.
“After participating on an Operation Smile mission in another hospital, Phillip was inspired to advocate for other patients who required surgery and put forward a suggestion to the management of Healthpoint to partner with Operation Smile UAE.”, stated Morag, the Executive Director for Operation Smile UAE.
After gaining the initial approval, the two organizations set up for a small mission in December 2020, where 5 patients received surgery. Dr. Philipp fondly remembers a patient from this first Healthpoint mission. “There was a little girl who was 15 months old. She needed an MRI to assess her nasal polyp’s origin. It derived from the nose and not the brain and she became a suitable candidate for our hospital. I grew fond of her and was very relieved when it was decided that she could be operated on in this mission at Healthpoint.”
The success of the December 2020 mission led towards a second mission in June 2021. This mission was on a larger scale and Operation Smile was able to provide 9 surgeries. Following all the COVID-19 health and safety protocols, we were able to conduct this mission seamlessly with the support we received from Healthpoint.
Our medical and student volunteers left the busy 3 days with their hearts full. Looking back on his three medical missions, “According to my experience, the most memorable moments of the missions are when the parents see their children after the surgeries. The immediate results after a cleft lip surgery are amazing and it’s a very emotional moment for the staff and parents,” says Dr. Philipp.
This medical mission also conducted a six month follow-up with some patients who had received surgery in December 2020. “ Three of the babies returned and looked amazingly happy and healthy. The babies were walking and one little girl looked so different having had the large polyp removed and her cleft lip repaired. All of the parents were overjoyed,” recalls Morag with a big smile on her face.
The collaboration welcomed and complemented each organization’s goals and visions, with Operation Smile aiming to provide everyone with safe surgery through Healthpoint’s quality care and state of the art facilities.
Whilst working together Dr. Philipp observed both teams working together and supporting each other through each day of the mission. “What I appreciate very much is the harmonic working atmosphere during Operation Smile missions. It is founded on mutual trust and respect between all participating volunteers and medical fields.”, said Dr. Philipp.
The overall excitement and devotion in being able to help a patient after the recent June 2021 mission was visible amongst both the Operation Smile and Healthpoint teams.
“The entire team was very enthusiastic about the mission and it dominated the conversation everywhere for days. In the Operating Theatre, the question I was asked the most by our staff was, ‘when are we going to do the next mission!’”, remembered Dr. Philipp.
The mutual interests and goals for both Healthpoint and Operation Smile in bringing top quality care to their patients presents hope for future collaborations during missions, inspiring more and more volunteers to join the cause along the way.
