One of the best things about my position with Operation Walk is getting to know the patients and their families. Since I track patient stories for our social media pages, our website, and our Angels project, I get to see every aspect of the mission. Beginning with our patient clinic on our first day at the hospital, I take photos to be placed in the medical files. During this time we get to know the patients and their stories. As they share their struggles, their hopes and their fears, a connection is formed between us.
After patients are selected, I document each step of their surgery and recovery. I am able to follow them from the time they are admitted to the hospital, pre and post op, through surgery, and down then onto the floor for recovery. It was in post-op that I had the opportunity to get to know Isabel Marie Brown. Isabel had just come out of bilateral knee surgery and was looking around the recovery room with her bright eyes. She saw me with my camera and motioned for me to come near. Isabelle is originally from Jamaica and speaks impeccable English, which is a bonus for me, since my Spanish is rudimentary at best.
Isabel smiled as I walked over and asked, “Can you take my picture? I want to see myself so I know that this isn’t just a dream.” After I took a few photos, I showed them to her and she got a little teary. To be honest, we all did. “Look at me,” she exclaimed, “that is the face of a brand new woman.” Isabel asked if I would find her tomorrow and bring my camera so she could show her family the pictures. She said she wanted to prove that she had made it and show them the beginning of her new life.
The next morning, I found Isabel and her daughter on the ward. We sat and looked through the photos I had taken the night before and we had a chance to talk about how the damage the arthritis had done to her knees had affected her life. For many years, she worked as a pathologist, but as her arthritis got worse, it became impossible to work. She moved in with her daughter and now cares for her two grandchildren while her daughter works to support the family. Isabel struggles to keep up with the children because of the extreme pain she experiences when she walks. Playing with them is difficult and she worried that if she didn’t receive surgery soon, she would no longer be able to take care of them on a daily basis.
When she found out that she had been selected for surgery, on both knees, she couldn’t believe it. She assured me that she would be diligent with her exercises, listen to the physical therapists, and practice walking as much as she could, so she could make the most out of this opportunity. Throughout the next few days, I would see Isabel sitting next to her bed practicing exercises to increase the flexion in her knees and walking down the hall, first with a walker and then graduating to crutches. She admitted that the first two days were hard, she had some nausea, some tingling, and then some pain at night that made it hard to rest. But in the end, she said, it was all worth it.
On our last day at the hospital, I went to say goodbye. Isabel was also getting ready to leave. She had on a beautiful purple dress and had done her hair. She told me she wanted to look good when she got home because her grandchildren were waiting for her. “I can’t wait to show them how well Nanny can walk.” I feel honored to have met Isabel and her daughter and to have had the opportunity to be part of her journey. Isabel’s bright spirit is one that I will remember and carry with me for years to come.