At only 13 years old, Malibu local Alana Witting knows she wants to help people in need — the seventh grader has just returned from a surgical mission to Guatemala on behalf of Mending Kids.
In April, Witting, along with her mother, Lori Beckwith, were among seven volunteers who trekked to Guatemala City to help in a marathon session of life-changing surgeries for children. Witting was the only young adult among the group and, according to others on the trip, she was indispensable.
The volunteers assisted a small group of doctors from Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The group completed 43 surgeries in just four days, which meant nearly 12 hours of work each day, assisting the patients and helping nervous children and their families feel more comfortable.
“Our job was to distract them from their fears about surgery,” Witting explained.
According to Dr. Brad Taicher, the anesthesiologist on the mission, studies have shown that a calm and relaxed patient uses less pain medication and anesthesia, and can also have an easier post-operative recovery.
Even though there was a language barrier, Witting played with the children who needed surgeries, accompanied them to the operating room and comforted them post-op.
“On our first day, our team leader showed us how and where to get dressed in scrubs and how to remain sterile,” Witting said. “We went to the pre-op room and met all the kids and parents who were waiting anxiously for surgeries. We had met many the day before during the screening day, when about 80 families brought their children to be seen by doctors.”
The families seen at the Moore Clinic in Guatemala City are generally impoverished and otherwise unable to afford the operations necessary for their children to live normal, happy lives. This mission focused on urology and hernia surgeries.
Alana shared one of her memorable experiences with a young patient.
“I met five-month-old Anderson in pre-op. His worried mom was holding him and rocking back and forth, while another volunteer and I played with him. He had big brown eyes and beautiful black hair. I held him for a while. He seemed so tiny, and when I held him, he looked up at me and smiled. Then his eyes started to tear up and he started crying.”
Witting explained that patients aren’t allowed to eat for 12 hours before surgery, so babies often cry for food.
“Anderson’s mother, another volunteer and I took turns holding Anderson until he fell asleep in my arms,” she said. “The doctors called Anderson’s name. This can be a difficult moment because the child separates from their family. I then carried him to the operating room and placed him on the table where the doctors prepared him for surgery.”
Witting stayed in the OR and assisted non-surgically as needed during this procedure and many others. She shared that when Anderson awoke, he was crying because he was hungry and thirsty.
“The nurses gave him to me to try and settle him down. I rocked him back and forth until he fell asleep.”
Once Anderson was cleared for release, it was Witting who carried the baby to his grateful mother.
“I was extremely proud of her,” Witting’s mother, Beckwith, shared. “I was complimented constantly by the surgeons and by the other staff that they couldn’t believe that she was a 13-year-old because she just fit right in.
“I’ve done missions like this in the past and sharing it with your daughter and experiencing it with her just multiplied exponentially how wonderful it was. What a great feeling of helping and passing along the desire to help to your kid. That was fantastic.”
Speaking about the mission, Witting explained, “I don’t want to be a doctor — I just want to help kids. It was really fun playing with the kids and seeing them before surgery. The doctors told us it made a huge difference.”
Witting said she got many blessings and thank-yous from the parents as well. When asked if she’d like to do it again she replied, “Next year we want to go back. For sure.”
Mending Kids is a nonprofit based in Burbank, California. It provides surgical care to children worldwide, focusing on congenital heart defects, orthopedic abnormalities, scoliosis, urological defects and facial deformities. The charity was one of the recent recipients of funds raised through the Malibu Guitar Festival.
