Cook Children's Medical Center
Dr. Gavin Fine shows off a thank you card from a mission patient.
Among those moral values instilled while growing up in South Africa, doing for others was at the top of the list in the life of young Gavin Fine.
“My grandparents always told me, ‘It’s easy to throw dollars at a charity, but to give up your time, that’s when you’ve given to a charity,” says Fine, today a pediatric anesthesiologist at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth.
It is the reason mission work instantly appealed to him and why he is now a regular missionary, traveling to all parts of the world to share his knowledge and talent to those who need it.
It’s fulfilling work, he says, the reward in helping others as well as an affirmed appreciation for the life he is afforded in the U.S.
Fine works with Operation Smile, a global surgical nonprofit that improves the health and dignity of patients living with cleft lip and cleft palate in low- and middle-income countries. Since 1982, Operation Smile has been committed to providing patients with health that lasts through life-saving cleft surgeries and comprehensive care, helping them to better breathe, eat, speak, and live lives of greater quality and confidence. Its training and education programs elevate safe surgical standards and strengthen a global network to reach more people earlier in their lives.
Operation Smile appealed to Fine because of the organization’s follow-up with patients. Not only do they do the initial surgery, but if there were any issues, they had a sophisticated referral system. That was something unique, according to what Fine’s colleagues had told him.
Fine, 56, moved to the U.S. in 1991 to complete his medical training. He initially wanted to do radiology but changed his mind.
“My grandmother was an anesthesiologist, and my grandfather was a pediatrician,” Fine says. “Subconsciously, I made them both happy.”
He was initially introduced to mission work while completing a fellowship in Pittsburgh. His chairman and one of the fellows had gone to Vietnam for medial mission work. “I thought that would be something I’d really like to do,” he says.
His first trip was to Lima, the capital of Peru. He was given notice that he would need to leave in five days. The group he was working with in Fort Worth was flexible fortunately.
“I told my chairman that I had this opportunity,” Fine says. “He said, ‘Go.’”
His first mission patient was a boy of 6 or 7, Fine says. He doesn’t really remember because “I was so petrified.”
“That was my introduction to Operation Smile,” Fine says. “I met a wonderful surgeon, and we just hit it off. The most interesting [aspect] was learning to adapt to adverse circumstances to do your anesthesia that you’d never had to worry about in the U.S. The only room they had available was a sort of closet, I’d describe it as. You had all the equipment you absolutely needed to do a safe anesthesia. The only difference was the environment.”
Those first few missions, he says, are as much about the organization evaluating his competency and capacity to get along with others.
In addition to Lima, Fine has been to the Philippines, more than once, China, Madagascar, Egypt, and Morocco. In total, he has been on eight mission trips with Operation Smile
“When you go to a country like Madagascar and see how the vast majority of the population lives, you come back here and are so grateful for what you have,” Fine says. “You feel so good that you are able to help people who don’t have access to what we have in this country.
“I’m not saying people aren’t grateful in this country, but it’s a different level. In many ways medicine has changed in this country where certain things are expected. Over there, nothing is expected. Even the smallest thing you do, these families are just so happy that somebody actually cares for them.”
There’s irony about all this. As much as he contributes to the well-being of his mission patients, they have given as much to him in return. Fine says he would do more mission work if he could afford it.
“I find people in many countries are rich,” the doctor says. “Not financially, but rich in culture. Operation Smile has inspired me to become aware and try to develop an understanding of other cultures. I think this makes the world a better place.