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Steamboat Springs — Jean Roman takes two suitcases with her on each Operation Smile mission. One is packed with minimal clothes and personal belongings, many of which she leaves behind in the developing countries to which she travels.

The other suitcase is packed with donated medical supplies from the Yampa Valley Medical Center, along with 100 stuffed white bears with “Steamboat” emblazoned on their chests.

“The kids, they don’t have anything,” said Roman, a part-time recovery nurse at YVMC. “Sometimes they don’t even have shoes.”

But what those children do have is the willpower to travel for days and days to reach the Operation Smile mission tents to have a chance at a better life and a brighter smile.

Jean Roman has volunteered with Operation Smile for three years, working as a recovery nurse for the international charity that fixes facial deformities in developing countries.

“They’re made fun of at school, and the girls, they wear scarves over their faces, and they’re beautiful,” she said about the children she treats.

Roman is one of more than 5,000 credentialed medical volunteers worldwide for Operation Smile, which has performed more than 150,000 surgeries.

And volunteering for Operation Smile isn’t a passion that’s easy to keep to oneself.

Roman got involved after hearing stories from local anesthesiologist Eric Meyer. Now, she’s got her husband, Jeff, involved. Meyer wrote letters of recommendation for both of them to induct them into the program.

Although their goal is to eventually travel as a team, the two have had life-changing experiences on individual missions.

Jeff Roman just returned from his first mission, in Vietnam, where he supervised two high school students who volunteered to provide hygiene education to the children involved in Operation Smile.

He said it was overwhelming to watch the children transform in just a 45-minute surgery.

“You cry,” he said.

Jean Roman has been on six missions, from India to Morocco, including two trips to Nicaragua.

On her second trip to Nicaragua, she ran into an old friend: 3-year-old Kenny, whom she remembered from her first mission there.

She remembered him as a little ball of energy who was a nightmare when coming out of surgery for his cleft lip.

The second time around, Kenny was in for his cleft palate. She had to wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly to keep him calm in recovery.

The Romans have seen patients of all ages on the missions, from children as young as 8 weeks old to men in their 30s who had never kissed a woman because of the shame of their condition.

And not all of the children are chosen for surgery: Some don’t qualify because of other medical conditions.

“It just breaks your heart,” Jeff Roman said.

But those children still benefit from the generosity of the Steamboat community. They still receive one of the bears provided by the YVMC Auxiliary. The pair has given out 500 bears already.

“You just try to make it a good day for everyone,” he said.

The foreign countries also benefit from the training provided by the medical staff and the supplies they leave behind: Jean said she leaves her scrubs because the doctors there are in desperate need.

After each mission, many volunteers stay in the country and travel as a group. The Romans have made countless friends that way, keeping in touch through Facebook and inviting all their foreign friends to stay at their Steamboat home.

“We want to show off Steamboat and our hospitality,” Jean said about their informal cultural exchange.

So far six people have taken them up on the offer and have enjoyed river rafting and horseback riding with the Romans.

The surgeries and their outcomes are memorable, but it’s the children, the people — and their smiles — that stay with them and keep them signing up for missions.

“You remember them for the rest of your life,” Jeff said.

“You do,” Jean said. “It changes your life forever.”

To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@SteamboatToday.com