So No Child Must Wait

“A Story of Healing” Becomes First Academy Award Winning Film Released Under A Creative Commons License

Watch the video (33 min)

Interplast’s 1997 Academy Award® winning documentary, “A Story of Healing,” has been re-released today under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives license (by-nc-nd).

This marks the first time in history that an Academy Award® winning film has been licensed under any Creative Commons license, allowing free and legal distribution of the film via the Internet.

We'll be showing it tonight (Wed. 4/18) at the Creative Commons Salon from 7-9pm at Shine (1337 Mission) in San Francisco, so come by and say hi if you live nearby.  If not, feel free to watch the video at the top of this post or on the Interplast website.  Or better yet, embed it on your website or blog by going to the film's page on Blip, clicking “Share” and following the instructions.

We hope that by publishing our media under a Creative Commons license we can encourage people to spread the word about Interplast's work.

For this reason, Interplast has licensed thousands of photos and our Flickr photostream (such as all the ones on this blog) and dozens of videos on Blip.tv under a Creative Commons by-nc-nd license.  We hope that other nonprofits see the benefit of distributing their photos and videos via the Internet under any of the Creative Commons licenses so that the public can more easily share info about change-makers worldwide.

Creative Commons, American Public Television, Blip.tv and Steve Rhodes were instrumental in helping us make this happen, and we're deeply grateful for their help.

As always, feel free to leave a comment or send us your thoughts at [email protected], we're happy to explain our reasoning in more detail.  And if watching online isn't your style, for a limited time only you can own a DVD of “A Story of Healing” for a suggested donation of $10 or more.

Zambian Cleft Case Successful

Remember the little Zambian girl with the really intense Tessier cleft whose case was discussed on Interplast Grand Rounds (IGoR), Interplast's web-based collaboration platform?

All of the comments from plastic surgeons around the world helped Dr. Jovic, the only plastic surgeon in Zambia, do an excellent job repairing the cleft.  The results are really astonishing.

***NOTE: This case is pretty graphic, so click through at your own risk.***

To see the results, go to the Zambian case in the virtual tour section of IGoR. 

Thank You!

  Drs. Wilson and Frankel with Interplast patients 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam:  Ian Wilson in the far left and Lorry Frankel in the far right pose with Interplast patients and their families. Note how much happier the parents look compared to the children, many of whom are in uncomfortable no-nos (restraints on the arms to prevent the kids from picking at their stitches).

Even though the children were a little uncomfortable, the patients were very grateful for the surgeries performed free of charge by Interplast.  The parents were especially thankful, because unlike their kids, they understood that their poverty prevented them from offering their children the opportunities afforded to people without congenital deformities or other defects.

Thank You To Scarborough Middle School

  Lorry Frankel and Patient with Thank You Card 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam: Pediatrician Lorry Frankel is shown here with a patient and one of the translators.  The patient is holding up one of the thank you cards made by Ms. Peron's 8th grade class at Scarborough Middle School in Scarborough, Maine.  Dr. Harmatz, one of the plastic surgeons on the team and an Interplast board member, has a daughter in the class.

As you can see, the patients really appreciated them, and were really touched that children from across the world cared enough to create and decorate the cards.  The patients wished to thank their counterparts in Maine for their warm wishes.

Patients and Mothers

  Patients and Mothers 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam:  The grateful mothers of these Interplast patients were much happier than their children, who were still pretty groggy from their surgeries. This is a common sight on Interplast trips. Even though we change children's lives, it is usually the parent who is grateful, while the post-op child is either groggy or cranky.

Phong Beug and Ian Wilson Post-Op

  Ian Wilson With Burn Patient 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam: Dr. Ian Wilson, the 2006-2007 Webster Fellow, performed the skin grafting procedure to release the burn contractures.  He will now be more adept at moving his head and neck, and will have better job prospects because he will be able to perform more tasks.

Patient in the PACU

  Patient in the PACU 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam: After the surgery, the children are taken to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Here they are carefully monitored by PACU nurses as they slowly wake up from the anesthesia.

Pre-Operative Surgery Safety

  Phong Beug 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam: This is Phong Beug. He was burned in a gasoline fire, which is all too common here in Cao Lanh, Vietnam.  If you look closely, you can see blue pen marks on he neck and face.  These are made to guide the surgeons and to make sure that they do not do any procedure that has not been approved by the rest of the team at clinic day.

Patient Entertained By Nametag

  My Nametag! 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam:  Before this little boy's surgery, we tried to get him to face the camera for a picture.  Unfortunately, the name was so enthralling to the kid that we couldn't get him to look up.

Dr. Flaherty With Cleft Lip Patient

  Dr. Flaherty With Cleft Lip Patient 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam:  This girl had a unilateral cleft lip repaired by Dr. Flaherty.  Had Interplast donors not paid for her surgery, she would have been condemned to a life of stigma and ostricization.  In a few weeks, the scar and swelling will diminish and she will look like her peers.