When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. A surgeon. My old schoolchum, Howard Kotler, wanted to be a surgeon too. We both did a "premed" program in highschool, and Howard helped get me a gig as a gurney boy in an emergency room. But when a motorcycle crash victim came in the door, the blood went out of my face. A doctor had to escort me to the cafeteria for a banana and a chocolate milk. I decided I'd better do something else with my hands, so I kept drawing pictures like I always had. Dr. Howard Kotler contacted me recently to see if I'd be interested in helping with some artwork for a project he and some other doctors have been heading for a few years, Operation Sunrise, a non-profit mission that provides reconstructive surgery to kids with cleft lips and palates in medically under-served countries.
Their work is amazing and life-changing for the kids who receive their expert care. Howard does something with his hands, too. His work gives kids a new beginning, so it was all I could do to give them a new image. It isn't much in comparison, but I faint at the sight of blood.
Please visit the Operation Sunrise website, and help out if you can.
