April 5, 2001 --
“There’s no better feeling on this planet than the satisfaction of creating a major positive change in someone’s life,” says plastic surgeon Don Lalonde, M.D.
Lalonde and his wife Jan, an operating room nurse, live and work in St. John, Nova Scotia. But about five years ago they found themselves in Kenya, after signing on with Operation Smile. There, along with an international team of plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other medical professionals, they spent 14 to 16 hours a day operating on children with birth defects and other deformities.
Since then the couple has averaged two missions a year. Instead of heading to the beach or to enjoy big city culture, they spend their holiday time creating new futures for outcast children in developing countries. “We’re addicted,” says Jan.
Nearly Two Decades of Service
The Lalonde’s story parallels that of plastic surgeon William P. Magee, Jr. and his wife Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker. In 1981, the Magees filled in as substitutes with a group of volunteer American doctors who traveled to the Philippines to operate on disfigured children. Working in three cities in five days, the team completed 150 operations. But they had to turn away another 250 children.
Moved by the unmet need, the Magees raised funds and solicited manufacturers for surgical equipment and supplies upon returning to their home in Norfolk, Virginia.. In 1982, the Magees again traveled to the Philippines – this time with their own team of 18 medical professionals.
