Ｏｐｅｒａｔｉｏｎ Ｓｕｎｒｉｓｅ ２００４ Ｍｅｄｉｃａｌ Ｍｉｓｓｉｏｎ Ｇｕａｎｇｄｏｎｇ

A child born with cleft lip or palate physiologically suffers from diseases caused by other stomatic organs， and psychologically has a sense of inferiority due to his facial defect. Hence， he often isolates himself from others and even refuses to go to school. As a result， he lacks proper education and becomes a burden of the society. Quite a large number of children with cleft lip or palate are looked down upon and discriminated by the society and even abandoned by their families， relatives and friends.

Out of human kindness and love， Operation Sunrise brings these unfortunate children an opportunity to transform their lives and wear smiles on their faces. Operation Sunrise is an international non-profitable medical organization founded in 1994. All of its members are volunteer medical workers including professors of the School of Medicine and the School of Dentistry of University of California， and famous private practitioners in the U.S. Every year during their two-week vacation， they go to the areas with poor living and medical conditions and repair cleft lip or palate for youngsters free of charge. To these professors and doctors， it is quite a big economic loss to do two-week free operations， but the love they receive in requital of their service cannot be bought with money. Just as Timothy Marten， founder and chairman of Operation Sunrise， once said， “The repair of cleft lip or palate is a priceless gift that transforms lives and stands as one of the most poignant acts of human kindness I know.” These kind-hearted doctors and nurses are just like angles who bring light to the earth at dawn.

In 2003 the Operation Sunrise medical team came to China for the first time and did 165 operations on cleft lip or palate for 104 patients in Guangzhou and Ganzhou. In September 2004， they came to Guangzhou again， bringing hopes to many child sufferers in poor families. This medical mission of Operation Sunrise， coordinated and supported by the Foreign Affairs Office and the Health Bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Government， was jointly sponsored by the Operation Sunrise Foundation of San Francisco of the U.S. and the Guangdong Maternity and Child-Care Hospital.

On September 17， the Operation Sunrise medical team consisting of 32 members from Sydney of Australia， and San Francisco and Chicago of the U.S. with medical apparatus and instruments and medicines they prepared by themselves arrived in Guangzhou. After taking a short rest in the hotel， they immediately went to the Guangdong Maternity and Child-Care Hospital to make preparations for the operations.

At the launching ceremony of the medical mission of Operation Sunrise on September 19， two children who had received operations on their cleft lips last year and their parents were invited by the Guangdong Maternity and Child-Care Hospital. When they saw the doctors who had changed their children’s fate， the parents held the doctors’ hands tightly， with tears in their eyes saying again and again， “Thank you. Thank you.” Happiness and gratitude showed clearly in their words and manner.

The medical mission lasted two weeks. As there were many patients whose cleft lips or palates needed repairing， the hospital had chosen over 100 patients from those who had registered for the doctors to select. As soon as the launching ceremony was over， the selection began. The hall of the hospital was crowded with waiting parents and children， most of whom lived in remote areas， and some of whom specially came from neigbouring provinces in the hope of being selected for the operation. The doctors gave every waiting child a careful medical check-up. Excluding those either too young or suffering from other illness who were not fit to accept the operation， finally 98 children were selected to be given the operation.

In order to make the medical mission most efficient in the short two weeks， it was arranged that every day operations were performed one after another. Doctors began their preparations at seven in the morning and worked till 6 o’clock in the evening. At noon they took a break and had their lunch in turn， and started to work immediately after lunch. The doctors and nurses of the medical team came from different places and some of them met with each other for the first time， but in the operation room each performed his or her duty and cooperated with one another very well， showing a good spirit of teamwork.

During the mission， Chinese medical workers were allowed to watch the performance for learning as well as offering their assistance. Anesthetist and dentist professors in the medical team exchanged skills with their Chinese counterparts and gave some instructions to the performers of operation. With the help of graphs， notes， and electronic dictionaries and use of common medical terms， it was not too difficult for medical workers of different countries to communicate in discussion on specialized subjects.

The second medical mission of Operation Sunrise was successfully concluded on September 30. Happy smiles reappeared on the faces of 98 young patients and their parents. Through helping the weak together， the American， Australian and Chinese doctors deepened friendship among them. The loving care， good medical ethics and superb medical skill of the doctors and nurses of the medical team left a deep impression on the people of Guangdong and won praises from all sides.

The medical mission of Operation Sunrise has transcended national boundaries， so has the kindness of the medical workers of Operation Sunrise. Though this time they were unable to perform operation on every patient， they promised: “We will come back next year.”