Kirstin's mercy missions repair more than just smiles of those born with disfiguring condition
24.06.2024
A big-hearted Glan Clwyd nurse is helping repair the lives and smiles of underprivileged children born with cleft lip and palate.
Despite being dedicated to a career in the NHS, diabetes specialist nurse Kirstin Clark has found time to volunteer with charity Love Without Boundaries since 2007. It sends international teams to China, Cambodia and Guatemala to perform life-changing surgeries for underprivileged children.
Now the organisation’s medical manager for China and Guatemala, it is her third trip supporting the surgeries, mainly at her own expense. Despite aiming their resources at children, Kirstin revealed one treatment stood out above all others on her latest journey.
She said: “The surgeries are usually for children but probably the most remarkable transformation is of Rene, a 52 year-old man with cleft lip. Rene was a special case as he had been refused surgery three times as a child.”
Rene’s transformation can be seen in the main picture but the gallery of before and after photos, in the link towards the foot of this story, act as a lasting testament to the incredible work Kirstin and her colleagues do.
Cleft lip and palate cause many serious challenges such as difficulty feeding, poor growth and overall development, dental issues, frequent ear infections, hearing loss and speech issues.
The need for the charity’s services is greater in Guatemala’s rural areas. In fact, the Guatemalan Ministry of Health estimates cleft lip and palate account for 15% of all reported congenital anomalies in the country.
Rural Guatemala is extremely impoverished and malnutrition is common in these regions, posing additional hardships for children born with cleft who often have difficulty nursing or taking a bottle.
Inadequate nutrition and high rates of infection are likely to hinder their normal growth and development.
A recent analysis in the Reproductive Health Journal indicates 10% of children born with cleft in Guatemala will pass away before six weeks of age. Providing surgery early in life is the best way to help ensure they can survive and thrive.
Children with an unrepaired cleft lip and palate can also suffer social isolation because their condition carries a negative stigma in some cultures around the world. The charity said it “wants to lift these children up so they can smile and speak confidently as a valued member of society”.
Keep up to date with health board news by signing up to our mailing list Sign up (es-mail.co.uk)