Los Angeles, CA — At Westside Neighborhood School (WNS), a group of dedicated 7th graders have embarked on a school project called SPLASH, which stands for Solving Problems for Los Angeles’ Society and Health.
SPLASH is designed to identify and address community challenges while making a meaningful impact. This year, my daughter, Madison Yamaguchi, along with school teammates Ethan Chang, Haley Ahir, and Alex Melendez have chosen to support OpWalk Los Angeles as their project.
Hip and knee replacement surgeries are often thought of as procedures primarily for the elderly, but this perception overlooks the significant number of younger individuals who require them due to conditions such as congenital dysplasia, osteonecrosis, post-traumatic arthritis, and inflammatory diseases. We’re screening several young patients for the upcoming mission who are in need of these surgeries to be free of pain, regain functionality, return to work, and take care of their families.
One of our favorite things about Operation Walk is the chance to invite new volunteers to participate and introduce them to our mission. We would like to introduce Coleen Daughtery RN, get to know more about her and why volunteering for our upcoming mission has a special meaning.
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In celebration of Mother’s Day, our Family Segment features mother and daughter team, Paulette Labinpuno RN and Kaitlyn Martinez PTA. Paulette and Kaitlyn traveled with our team to Arusha, Tanzania this past summer and experienced volunteering together for the first time. Read more about how this mission made a lasting impact on them both.
Often, we receive messages through our website, Facebook and Instagram pages, or in response to our newsletter requesting help. That help can be for a parent, a husband or wife, or the patient themselves. Through modern communication, we can connect these patients with local hospitals and sometimes are able to serve them during an Operation Walk Mission. Below is one such story.
It is with pleasure that we introduce the Lawrence D. Dorr Operation Walk Scholarship winner for 2024, Dr. Kamran Movassaghi. This scholarship was founded by Operation Walk Los Angeles Angel and long-time donor, Ms. Paula Paulus, to honor and celebrate Dr. Dorr’s distinguished career. This scholarship grants fourth or fifth-year residents in orthopedic surgery, aspiring to specialize in joint arthroplasty, the opportunity to participate in Operation Walk’s international missions.
As we gear up for our mission to the Philippines this summer, we have received several requests from locals and their families. These requests describe hardworking people whose lives have been interrupted by joint disease, damage to their knees and hips due to accidents, and other debilitating causes. One such individual is Jeffrey Busog. His wife wrote to us in January with the hope that her husband could be considered as a potential patient for our upcoming mission at our partner hospital in General Santos City. Team Leader, Lisa Fujimoto PA, coordinated with the hospital administrators to find him a place on the screening list. Jeffrey will be evaluated, like all potential patients, orthopedically and medically to see if he qualifies for surgery. Below is his story.
During our most recent mission to Tanzania, we had the rare occurrence of three family members volunteering and working side by side. Kyle, Ava, and Kate Baldwin made the journey working in Physical Therapy, as Administrative Coordinator, and in the OR respectively. Since the inception of Operation Walk, this family has dedicated their time, talents, and service to helping restore mobility one surgery at a time. Hear how their involvement in our organization and this trip has and continues to shape their lives.
When you join our group of philanthropists, you help provide life-changing surgeries to those in desperate need of a miracle. But beyond that, you help to build a bridge between donors and patients. Our Angels have the opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of our patients, their families, and their communities.
Our Angels all are motivated by our commitment to Operation Walk, here are some of their whys.
We wanted to share the progress of two patients operated on our 2023 mission to Arusha, Tanzania. Both Innocent and Amina are doing well and finding a rhythm to their lives after joint replacement surgery.
In the next few months, we will be exploring the family connection within the Operation Walk organization. Team members have often raised their children in our community and emphasized the importance of volunteerism, service, compassion and giving back to both the local and the global community. These second-generation volunteers bring a new energy, spirit, and vision to Operation Walk. Often young volunteers go into the field of health care to become the new face of medicine.
This month’s story features the Holsbeke family. Matt Holsbeke NP and his wife, Sandy Holsbeke PT, have been active members of our team for almost twenty years. They’ve dedicated many hours to fundraising, organizing and participating in mission trips around the world. Matt explains his commitment.
These past few months we’ve featured young volunteers who are stepping up to be the next generation of volunteers for Operation Walk Los Angeles. We’re happy to introduce University of Wisconsin-Madison student, Isabella Umali-Grawe. We thank Isabella in advance for taking time to out of her busy schedule during midterms to share information about herself, her goals after graduation, and why it is important for her to volunteer on our upcoming mission to the Philippines this summer.