CORTLAND, N.Y. – There are 185 new smiles in Sudan these days, and New York Jets offensive lineman Oday Aboushi helped create them all.
He was part of a five-day surgical mission by the Islamic Medical Association of North America in early March to repair cleft lips in the African country.
IMANA Medical Relief's volunteer SaveSmile team operated on infants as young as a few months old to adults in their early- to mid-20s. Aboushi, who joined the group along with his sister Tahanie and brother Haytham, scrubbed in during the surgeries and assisted with giving patients IVs and watched up close as their mouths were transformed in the 35-minute procedures.
Aboushi, competing for the left guard spot, says the trip changed his life — along with the lives of dozens of families.
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