MargaritaMargarita was born in a small Indian village in Mexico. Normally, a birth is regarded as a special occasion of celebration, but this was different. She had a cleft lip. Her father was so disappointed and angry that he got drunk and blamed her mother for giving him a, "Pig", instead of a child. He refused to have anything to do with Margarita from that moment on.
Sometimes he would come home drunk and crying because he had a child like Margarita. He had no way of coping with the tragedy of this birth defect.
Word got to margarita's village that there were doctors in the United States who could help her condition and the arrangements were made through CCSS to come here for the operation. The trip was made in a pickup truck with 6 other children needing surgery from neighboring villages. 1,500 miles across the hot Mexico landscape to San Diego.
Her operation was a success and Margarita was a changed little girl. Once the
father saw the changes he begged forgiveness for treating her and her family
so badly. He told them that he just couldn't deal with the heart break he felt
because of Margarita's birth defect. He cursed himself inside, but took it out
on them, the people he loved the most.
We constantly think of these surgeries and their successes as miracles because of the great transformation not only in the cosmetic features of the face, but the transformation of the attitude of the patients, their parents and their friends. Some dramatically, like Margarita's case, and others less so, but all are miracles to us just the same. Making such a difference in the lives of people gives us a great deal of satisfaction that we are able to be a part of it.
