Trip to Guatemala - October 2010

In October, Larry went on a 10 day trip to Guatemala as part of a large medical mission group. The trip was coordinated by Helps International (based in Guatemala) and Iaomai Medical Ministries (based in San Diego).

He joined his mentor, Dr. Lisa Buckmiller,

and together operated on over 20 children with cleft lips and palates.

The mission took place in Huehuetenango which resides high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. There were about 80 people in all involved with the trip including people from all walks of life preforming everything from surgery to nursing to cooking, translating and providing spiritual support. It was an amazing experience!!

The people were so grateful for the assistance we provided and it was so fulfilling to be part of this effort.

After more than a week of intense operating, we then headed to Antigua which is a beautiful city surrounded by some volcanoes.

Overall, an amazing experience. I’m looking forward to the next chance (hoping to go at least every other year after completing my Fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology with an emphasis on cleft lip and palate surgery)!!

We’re having a girl!

In early December, we had an ultrasound to check on the baby. We brought the boys along with us as they were so excited to find out what the baby would look like. Bram was hoping for a little brother that he “could battle with.” Gary, however, wanted a little sister. They were both wrong, we were having an alien …

Just kidding. We found out it was a girl and she looked so precious!!

We’re all of course so excited!!! We both kept discussing the possibility of a girl prior to this and throwing around girl names. We both figured we’d have a boy since all our relatives seem to be so good at having boys (13/15 grandkids are boys on the Hartzell side with another due within the next few days; 6/8 grandkids are boys on the Cornia side). But we hoped for a girl and the new experiences and relationships that would result. We are thrilled! And a little intimidated about the expected difference from our very rowdy boys. Now Holly can finally start looking at all the cute little girl stuff that she’s always admired and use her sewing skills to make all sorts of cute stuff.

Stay tuned: baby girl is due May 4th but we expect the c-section to be scheduled about 1 week before that. We still don’t agree on names but are leaning towards Charlotte. We shall see!