This past Mother’s Day weekend, we reflected on the mothers we see every day in our community. Mothers who make heartfelt sacrifices in hopes of securing surgical care for their children and who often put their children’s needs above their own. Parents who deliver care both in and out of the operating room — as nurses advocating for patients, surgeons mending lives, and volunteers dedicating their time to serve others. We thank and celebrate them.
Below is a recap of a few ‘mom-orable’ moments we want to commemorate.
Mothers Deserve To See and Be Seen: Hue
Hue is a mother from the central Vietnam highlands. She and her daughter Thu have ptosis, a condition where the eyelids droop and severely impact their vision. When Hue learned about the opportunity to get a free reconstructive surgery, she jumped at the chance for her daughter to gain restored vision. Her focus had been on her child’s condition, not her own. She had not considered the possibility that she was also a candidate for surgery until she met ReSurge surgical partner, Dr. Hau Trung — who advocated for them both to get surgical care. Both surgeries were a success. Like mother, like daughter, now they can ‘be and see’ together.
A Love That’s Skin-deep: Whitnes
Whitnes is from central Tanzania where she is a single mom to two boys. She is the type of mom who belly-laughs at her kids’ jokes, who straightens their collars, and who would give the shirt off her back for her boys. Whitnes has given much more than the shirt off her back–she’s given her own skin to save the life of her eldest son Jacob. Whitnes is a skin donor who stepped up for her son when the unthinkable happened.
Hand in Hand with Little Luz: Diana
Luz was born without a thumb in her left hand or a radius bone in her right arm, due to a rare congenital anomaly called radial hemimelia. Due to her limited hand mobility, she faced challenges eating, dressing, and developing motor skills. Luz’s mother, Diana actively sought solutions, leading her to ReSurge Surgical Partner, Dr. Jorge Terrazas, a pioneering hand surgeon in Bolivia. Dr. Jorge Terrazas, along with a team of surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists, successfully performed life-changing hand surgeries for young Luz. Diana held Luz’s hand before, during, and after her surgery –– supporting her daughter with the care she needed while empowering her to become independent and tap into her creativity.
Nursing Patients and Relationships: Susan
For National Nurses Week, we interviewed Susan Smith, a ReSurge Medical Volunteer, nurse educator, and mother. Susan is a career nurse with 35 years of experience, nearly all spent caring for burn-injured patients. She is also a proud mother of two wonderful sons, an amazing daughter-in-law, and a grandmother of three. She took us through valuable moments and insights she’s discovered while providing burn care in low and middle-income countries worldwide.
At ReSurge we are inspired by how mothers continue to shape our work. There is so much to their story within and beyond motherhood. They are mothers — but they are also surgeons, nurses, leaders, advocates, and survivors. They continue to drive our work forward by bravely seeking out ReSurge services or expertly delivering them. They support the medical needs of children and adults and commit their time to our mission in various ways. They empower us to learn more and do better when serving patient communities.
