By Ava Baldwin
The wheels touch down in a very small airport in Managua, Nicaragua. There is lush vegetation all around and the second the plane door opens you can feel the heat and humidity – and there is no air conditioning in the airport.
It is not unusual to see armed soldiers and the security system consists of passengers pressing a large button (which resembles a ‘fake’ game show button). If you get a green light you pass, red you stop.
I got a green light, and onward to the buses/coaches that await us outside. You definitely do NOT want to be separated from the group. Thank goodness our Team Leader, Jeri Ward, is tall! My eyes stay on her. Many dogs and street vendors await us outside – hoping for scraps and food or money.
The bus is not air conditioned either, but the team doesn’t mind. We are getting ready to help some of the kindest, most grateful people in the world. The debrief starts within hours of arriving at our hotel. We start immediately: washing equipment, organizing charts, preparing the rooms for the onslaught of eager potential patients who hope to get a life-changing surgery. Without Operation Walk, there is very little hope that these people will walk, earn a living, or be able to function in this society. Without mobility it is hard to work, without work there is no money, and there are no social welfare programs to help. Operation Walk is truly life-changing, sometimes, life saving.
After the debrief, we set off for dinner. We will enjoy great local meals and very brief yet thorough settings on the days ahead. We finish at around 9pm, then head back to our hotel rooms. The next day will be early and long, but oh so rewarding.
We set off for the hospital in buses. You NEVER want to be late or be the last one not the bus. On time is LATE in Operation Walk land.
We arrive to a very full hospital lobby! There are a few seats and the patients bring multiple family members, again no AC. Here the medical team evaluates who they will select to operate based on overall health, need, and chances for success. The outcomes of Operation Walk surgeries are very good because of the great pre-screenings. All day long the whole team is working: X-rays, briefings, and decisions. This is the hardest thing, out of hundreds in need, OpWalk selects 50-60 cases. My day consists of running X-rays, trying to translate Spanish to English and back again, getting water, making charts, writing scores, and then holding the hands of patients – some very happy, others very sad.
That afternoon some of the doctors will head right to the operating room to start the first cases. It’s amazing. Such teamwork and professionalism. There is nothing quite like an Operation Walk team. All corporations should model this: bring your very best self and your very best skills to work each day and every day. Do your best, work until the job is done, and put patients’ needs first!
By the end of the afternoon, Physical Therapy is getting the first post-op patients up and walking, and doctors are rounding. The rest of the team cleans up and prepares for up to 15 cases the next day!
At dinner, there is a debrief of how the first cases went – it is awesome. Dinner is delicious: an authentic fest served by the nicest most grateful locals, and we toast to a great first day. Jeri debris and anticipates needs for the next day.
Although most of my day is spent being a helping hand to the team and patients, I find it very rewarding to spend as much time as I can learning from local staff and engaging the patients and their families. They love American health-care workers. They are curious about our lives back in the U.S. (smart phones help us to share each others’ lives).
We work the same hours for the next 4 or 5 days. There are very few breaks and yet the team stays so professional and positive. They are a joy to work with. At the end, saying goodbye is the WORST! I hate it. I keep in touch with so many Facebook friends from my OpWalk visits (no wonder I don’t get any work done at home!). Their surgeries change their lives. They can work, contribute, and stay healthier. They do not want to burden their families and friends. They want to get better and quick!
When we’re done at the hospital we usually take a day to visit the local scene. A tour, shopping, museum, lake, boat ride – the countries are beautiful, and the people even more so! I keep a journal and the surgery sheets to remind myself of the beautiful people I’ve been lucky enough to call my friends. They say thank you for changing their lives, but really it is MY life that is forever changed, thanks to the determination and vision of Dr. Lawrence Dorr, his steady nurse Jeri Ward, and the OR chief Mary Ellen Sieben. This is truly the DREAM TEAM.
We are eager and ready to go on our next mission, just say when. It’s not a cake walk, it’s Operation Walk! Thank you for your kind donations to provide life changing surgeries!