A Learning Experience

OPERATION: CHILDREN... THS junior joins medical team for mission to Ecuador

May 20, 2023

Claire Little and a young patient are all smiles after a successful surgery. Claire worked in the recovery room at a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador, during a recent medical mission. The team, consisting of personnel from McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple, brought the stuffed animals to give to the children being treated. Courtesy photo

Temple High School junior Claire Little assists her father, Dr. Danny Little of McLane Children’s Medical Center, in a surgery at a hospital in Ecuador. A team from Temple treated dozens of children during a one-week visit. Courtesy photo

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

Since 2010, teams of physicians, surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists from Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple have been making pilgrimages to third-world countries, providing surgeries and medical care to kids in need. Here’s the fourth installment of OPERATION: CHILDREN, an occasional series, to tell their stories.

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A February medical mission to a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador, included the usual team of surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists. It also included a high school student with a big heart and a strong interest in helping others.

The team included members of the McLane Children’s Medical Center staff, including Dr. Danny Little, the hospital’s surgeon in chief and the father of Claire Little, a junior at Temple High School.

Claire, a volleyball player and discus thrower, said the mission trip to Ecuador was a unique opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

“I always wanted to go to South America, and this was an opportunity to go to Ecuador,” she said. “It was something I’d love to do again. I’ve already talked to Dad about another mission trip.”

Claire said she knew in advance that she would be working with a Temple nurse, Vilma Domingo, in the Guayaquil hospital’s recovery room. But she also had a couple of unexpected experiences.

“I primarily worked in post-op, but I did get the chance to scrub-up a couple of times,” she said. “I worked in surgery with my dad, and I did a skin graph on a child’s finger. I also helped repair a hernia.”

Claire said working in the recovery room was a rewarding experience.

“Every 15 minutes we took the patients’ vital signs, and after the child was in post-op for an hour, I brought in their parents. They were so happy to see their kids in better condition.”

“We had to bring our own supplies from the US to the hospital in Ecuador, and we brought a bunch of stuffed animals as well,” she said. “In America, if we are given a stuffed bear, it’s like ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ But in Ecuador, the kids were absolutely thrilled to get them. Some wanted more than one. The stuffed animals were a big deal.”

“I’ve had Spanish classes at Temple High School, and that really helped me communicate with the people,” she said. “The Ecuadorian people working at the hospital were so full of hope and optimism. Some haven’t been paid for over a year, but they show up every day. They just know they will eventually be paid.”

Claire, who plans to attend Texas A&M University and study either women’s health or environmental engineering, said she was inspired by the children the team treated.

“They are so full of hope. If you have a hernia in America, it’s treated almost immediately. But in Ecuador, some of these kids have been waiting years for surgery.”

Claire said routine medical supplies that are disposable in the US are in short supply at hospitals such as the one in Guayaquil.

“Oxygen masks are a good example,” she said. “At American hospitals, masks are used by a patient then discarded. In Ecuador, we washed the masks and they were used on the next patient. Also, at US hospitals the patient’s face is covered with a thin fabric during surgery. But over there, we taped the patient’s eyes closed to keep things out during an operation. It was very different.”

Claire said a highlight of the trip was the cuisine.

“I love Ecuadorian food,” she said. “Fresh fruit, fresh seafood…it was really great.”