Ship prepares to take help, smiles to several nations

NORFOLK

Walter Chavarria is 18 but looks to be about 10 or 12, the consequence of a cleft lip and palate that inhibited his nutrition and made him susceptible to growth-stunting infections.

In February, Chavarria traveled 13 hours by bus from his hometown in Nicaragua to the capital, Managua, in the hope of getting his face repaired by a visiting Operation Smile team.

The pediatric hospital couldn't admit him because of his age, so the charity flew him here and did the 90-minute surgery in Virginia Beach in March. Now Chavarria is staying with a host family, putting down burgers and milkshakes and watching Spanish-language television.

On Wednesday morning, he went to Norfolk Naval Station to bid farewell to a vessel that is destined to transform many other people's lives.

The hospital ship Comfort left Wednesday on the Navy's latest humanitarian mission to Central America and the Caribbean. Over the next four months, the vessel will visit Antigua, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama.

The rotating 850-member crew of doctors, nurses, medical technicians and others plan to spend two weeks in each country, performing operations and providing medical and dental care both on board and on shore.

The cruise is part of a Navy mission called Continuing Promise, which is designed to partner with host countries on medical and engineering projects and build goodwill. The mission is the fourth such cruise to the region, following Comfort's 2007 trip and those of the amphibious assault ships Boxer and Kearsarge in 2008.

The mission commander, Capt. Robert Lineberry, said the crew includes members from every service branch, as well as other federal agencies and a half-dozen non governmental organizations.

He oversaw the Navy's relief effort last fall aboard the amphibious assault ship Nassau, when it responded to Galveston, Texas, after Hurricane Ike.

"This is more planned out, more controlled," he said. Galveston, however, gave him the opportunity to manage a real-world disaster response team. That could come in handy as the Comfort heads to the Caribbean during the start of hurricane season.

Capt. James J. Ware, commanding officer of the ship's medical treatment facility, will manage the nearly 1,400 medical personnel from 14 countries who will rotate through the ship in three- to four-week stints during the cruise.

Ware has been coordinating the care with the host countries' health ministries to tailor it to their needs.

Topping the list are requests for eye exams (the ship is bringing five optometrists and 30,000 pairs of glasses), surgery (including repairing cleft lips and palates and reconstructive plastic surgery for burns), dermatology, cardiology, dental care and physical therapy. The goal, Ware said, is to handle chronic conditions and not leave the countries with complicated follow-up care.

The ship also is carrying technicians to repair and maintain the donated medical equipment many of these countries use.

Dr. Ruben Ayala of Operation Smile said his group is looking forward to a busy tour. The charity first partnered with the Navy aboard the hospital ship Mercy in 2006 and has participated on several missions since then.

Each trip creates goodwill between countries, he said, and motivates the host countries' people to help their own.

"There's nothing better than seeing a mother looking at her child after surgery," he said.

The charity hopes to increase its number of operations this year. It's shooting for about 80 in Nicaragua alone, where it hopes to reach more people like Walter Chavarria.

At the pier Wednesday, the young man watched crews working on the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush next door.

Ayala stepped in to translate. Walter bobbed his head in response.

"Have you enjoyed being here?"

Nod.

"Do you like your new smile?"

Nod.

"Are you going to be able to have friends now?"

Nod.

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com