Cu Thi So is a H’Mong child born with a cleft lip and palate, living in a remote area of Lao Cai province. In 2020, with the help of Teacher Quyet, So was fortunate to meet Operation Smile and receive free surgery to fix her cleft lip. However, So still needed to treat her cleft palate to improve her daily life and communication.
Two years later, thanks to the care and persuasion of Teacher Quyet and Tien Lam from Operation Smile team, So’s family agreed to bring her to Hanoi to continue the surgical process. However, because both So and her father were infected with Covid-19, they had to return to Lao Cai, carrying many worries and frustrations. A year later, in March 2023, Operation Smile organized the medical program in Hanoi. Coincidentally, before the screening day, So’s case were known and supported by Operation Smile’s supporters to bring them to Hanoi. Therefore, So’s family agreed to let her sign up for the final surgery.
On the way to bus station to go back home, So’s father choked with happiness and held Lam’s hand tightly as a way to express gratitude. The joy of So’s father, of the Operation Smile team, the doctors, and nurses who helped treat on her, and above all, all came from the joy of everyone working together to achieve a miraculous thing: bringing NORMALCY to So.
