May 31, 2017
By: Margaret Hurt
Mackenzie Michaels, junior on the Auburn equestrian team, finished her finals May 5 and by the next day was hard at work again, but this time in Merida, Mexico.
Studying equine science with a minor in public health and agricultural business, Michaels' trip to Mexico didn't involve horses, but instead working to change the lives of 55 kids.
Michaels joined her father, an anesthesiologist at Florida Hospital, and traveled to Mexico with Sharing Smiles, an organization dedicated to helping children living with cleft lips and cleft palates.
Mackenzie with her father, Rob
These abnormalities mean either the children have one or two holes in their lips, or the roofs of their mouths are split down the middle. Some children suffer from both abnormalities. The children affected often suffer from malnutrition, unable to suckle or swallow food properly, and often have speech impediments. Sharing Smiles gives these children the chance to have surgeries they need that they otherwise would not have access to.
Teamed with five surgeons, two anesthesiologists, five nurses and 20 volunteers, Michaels spent five days in the town of Merida screening and prepping patients for surgery, updating parents on surgery progress, and even scrubbing in on surgeries. The children Michaels met and interacted with were some of her favorite parts of the trip, one of them being a little boy named Mateo who had a cleft palate.
"I first met him on Sunday and I was standing there kind of playing with him and we had ID badges that we wore." Michaels said. "He grabbed my ID badge and it was on a retractable string, and he'd pull it and then he'd let it go. I probably stood there for five minutes while he played with my ID badge."
Another one of Michaels' favorite patients was a 3-month-old boy named Leonardo, who came into the hospital wearing a full lion suit. Leonardo, who had a cleft lip and palate and was there to have his lip repaired, stole the hearts of the team members while he was there.
"He had a fan club," Michaels said. "And they actually let me carry him back and kind of help with everything, putting him under and taking him back to his grandmother, so that was really cool to kind of be in the heart of seeing all of that."
For Michaels, the hard work and long hours were all worth it when she saw the reactions of the parents when they saw their kids after surgery. Parents will drive several hours to get to the locations Sharing Smiles comes to and some even travel on foot.
"We only did five cleft lips," Michaels said, "When they sewed them up and brought the kid out to the parents - I mean, there were tears - it was really just memorable to see the reactions of the parents."
As a part of the team Michaels was given the chance to observe and scrub in on several surgeries with a plastic surgeon, experiencing an operating room in its full effect.
"ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦even if you're just cutting a stitch it's like, wow, I'm standing here staring into this kid's mouth," Michaels said.
The hands-on experience and the time the surgeons took to help her learn gave Michaels a unique and intimate look into something she might pursue as a career.
Entering her junior year and considering the possibility of medical school in the future, Michaels' time in Merida showed her the joy she got from helping kids.
"Everyone was so inclusive that I feel like I had one of the best experiences because I got to do a little bit of everything," Michaels said. "I would love to do another one of these and I really look forward to possibly doing this in the future as maybe a career path."
The selflessness and team-first attitude that Michaels saw in the Sharing Smiles team reminded her of the same way her equestrian teammates work together at Auburn.
"The feeling you get when you see and experience the outcome that a group of individuals has worked towards is so rewarding," Michaels said, "Whether it's seeing the looks of a child's parents when they see their baby transformed after a cleft lip surgery or winning a championship. It's a special moment that makes the long days and all the hard work more than worth it."