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Yang Kong Relationship Research Paper

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A relationship that has resonated with me and one that I will never forget is my friendship with Yang Jan Chao. Yang is a three year-old boy from Southeastern China. We met while I was in Wenshan, China for an Operation Smile mission. Operation Smile is a non-profit organization that devotes itself to eliminating the global problem of inadequate medical care. Medical volunteers enter third world countries and provide cleft lip and palate surgeries for children and young adults. I was able to become a student volunteer, and my responsibilities on the mission were to comfort patients and their families as well as give general hygiene presentations. Yang, one of the patients who I immediately felt a connection with, was in need of a lip scar revision and a unilateral nose repair. This surgery was relatively minor, but was not easily accessible in rural China. Yang traveled an hour from his home, with his grandmother and mother, to have his surgery at the Wenshan hospital.
We first met on screening day, which is a full day dedicated to examining patients and ensuring their ability to undergo surgery. I shadowed Yang as he proceeded through each step of …show more content…

The value of this relationship is boundless, as I don’t think I will ever meet another person who has come from such a different background. Seeing Yang grow up in such a contrasting environment than my own changed my perspective on difficulty. Yang has inspired me by giving me a new outlook on life and how hard it can be. Whenever I complain about an issue or a problem, I always now look to Yang. He is a child, who at three years old, lives a life filled with hardships but always has a unbroken smile on his face. He doesn’t know whether his family will make a profit this growing season or whether he will get an opportunity to beat his next medical hurdle, but his positive attitude is something truly

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