During a medical trip in Dafang, China, Rong Zhen was surrounded by youngsters, and she couldn’t help but gaze in amazement at them as she looked about.
A part of her felt sad for them and their situation. It doesn’t matter how old you are, going through a medical treatment can be quite nerve-wracking. Many of the youngsters she saw were just a few years old. On the other hand, she couldn’t contain her happiness that their families had discovered Operation Smile. It meant that kids wouldn’t be forced to grow up and bear the implications of living with an unrepaired cleft condition, an experience that Rong Zhen was all too acquainted with since he too had a cleft lip and palate as a child.
It is believed that a kid with a cleft condition is born somewhere in the world about every three minutes. Rong Zhen, who was born with a cleft lip and survived for 57 years with the disease, was one of the many patients in underdeveloped nations who did not get treatment for their ailment because access to care was limited.
Rong Zhen had no idea that having surgery to fix her cleft lip was even an option until only a few months before she went on an Operation Smile China expedition.
She went through each day under the impression that her cleft lip, as well as the cruel treatment she suffered from other people, would always be with her. Because of how she looked, Rong Zhen was often the subject of jeers and laughter. It was a never-ending battle trying to find job. She had a cleft lip and palate, therefore she thought that many companies would not hire her because of her deformity.
In spite of all of these difficulties, Rong Zhen’s life was rich with his family and love. Because she was the mother of three grown children and the grandmother of three grandkids, she dreaded the possibility that the people she cared about the most in the world might be affected by the same ailment. Thankfully, neither Rong Zhen’s children nor his grandkids were affected by cleft conditions when they were born.
However, the fact that she had to go through life with the weight of an unrepaired cleft lip kept her from being really joyful.
Rong Zhen did not find out that she may have surgery or a better future for herself until a community leader informed her about Operation Smile China. Since then, she has been hopeful about her chances.
She was astounded to learn that a worldwide medical organization offered these potentially life-changing procedures at no cost to patients.
The information completely upended Rong Zhen’s life. She could never have conceived of herself sporting a different grin.
As soon as the mission dates came, she and her husband, Cailong, boarded the bus for the journey to Dafang, which would take around two hours. Their children could hardly contain their excitement when they learned that their mother will soon undergo surgery to fix her cleft lip.
Rong Zhen and the other patients immediately underwent their exhaustive medical examinations as soon as they arrived at the mission site. This screening assures that every patient is healthy enough to become a candidate for surgery in a safe environment, which is Operation Smile’s first objective.
The objective of Operation Smile in China only lasted a few days, but during that time, hundreds of children and adults got surgery that altered the course of their lives irrevocably.
Rong Zhen was a member of the group.
The fact that Rong Zhen was born with a cleft palate did not hinder Cailong from thinking his wife was lovely.
When Cailong looked at her after the operation, he saw the same lady he had been married to for the previous 34 years and who brought him nothing but joy. She had not changed into anybody else and continued to act as a mother figure to their children while he still loved her. But there is one major distinction between today and then.
When Rong Zhen stares at her new grin, she realizes that she can now experience genuine happiness.
People who don’t have access to basic surgical treatment, like Rong Zhen, might go through years of being bullied, feeling isolated socially, and dealing with health issues as a result of their untreated cleft condition.
A patient’s life might undergo a dramatic change almost instantly as a result of the cleft surgery that can be performed in as little as half an hour.
Rong Zhen’s level of satisfaction after a successful operation was over the roof.
