Cambodian Tot ready for life-changing surgery

Little 'Tot' - the 5 year old Cambodia boy with the hugely rare condition of fused jaw - picked up and helped by Dr Veronica Ventura of  Community Health Care Development  has 'passed' his screening tests, carried out in Siem Reap and is now in Singapore for surgery in the next few days.   Dr Ventura did a considerable search in Cambodia before partnering with Rose Charities for his rehabilitation and post surgical care.  Dr Venturas tireless pursuit of  a way to help Tot has been, in the opinion of this writer,  utterly amazing. She has worked tirelessly in her efforts for almost a year, making numerous visits to Cambodia in the process to make arrangements.   It is a sad fact that such quiet charitable determination and generosity of spirit are little publicized (not that Dr Ventura would wish it !).  She also found sadly little help in Cambodia: One organization supposedly specializing in 'Childrens Surgery'  simply wanted to operate 'blindly' on Tot without any prior  radiological (x-ray) assessment.

Don Cayo, one of Vancouver's leading freelance journalists writes...

"  “There is so much endemic disease, in Cambodia, not to mention malnutrition/poor diet that it is very important to screen carefully before surgery.  [Several common conditions], not least the awful problem of Malaria (Cambodia has some of the
most drug resistant strains in the world] can put down the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and make surgery dangerous. So we needed to check that all is okay. And I am delighted to say that it is.
    “Tot's surgery can now go ahead. It is scheduled for the 4th January in Singapore.  All staff are donating their time free, including the surgeon, Dr Myra Elliot, an experienced, Singapore registered maxillo-facial expert. Singapore, like Canada, has tight regulations
on who can practice there so we are very lucky to get Dr Elliot. . . .
    "Tot will convalesce until the 15th January in Singapore then fly back to Cambodia and to our Rose Charities medical facilities there. So things are very much falling into place.  Vancouver donors have generously donated $1500 to date which will help enormously both with the surgical as well as the rehab elements.
    "We all intend to follow Tot long after he has recovered and been rehabilitated.
    “There is the moral argument whether it is appropriate to spend a lot of money on one individual. But by ensuring that Tot gets a proper education and a happy, productive life, that amount spent can be considered to be working over a lifetime. An
individual unable to communicate by speech, malnourished, and with all his debilitation would certainly  be a financial drain on his family or community over the years. But restoring him to a place where he can have a normal life may create, through that life which will include education, a bright future for himself, his family and
his community too.
    “So many more will be helped by the financial outlay than just one poor little Cambodian boy.”

 ' Tot's progress will be reported on this site.