In the arms of her father, four-year-old Mayda Chen Pan prepares for her palatoplasty on Wednesday morning. Four days earlier, she and her dad, along with six-year-old Esvin Danilo Gual and her dad, arrived at MPSC after an eight-hour journey from a small village in Peten, a remote region in northern Guatemala.
Procedures for Mayda and Esvin were scheduled for the same day because Mayda’s father speaks only Kekchi, one of the Mayan languages unique to the Peten region, and Esvin’s father, who speaks both Kekchi and Spanish, could provide translation.
Photo by Dr. Syboney Zapata
