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 hope all of you are staying well. A year ago we would never have dreamed how our lives would change. This pandemic, like those in the past, will change the way we do things, but will not change the human spirit of helping others. I have been in constant contact with our colleagues in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Cuba. We are comparing statistics, treatment protocols and other information on how are countries are dealing with COVID-19. We are disappointed that our missions did not work out this year, but we all commit to getting back to the patients waiting for us as soon as it is safe to travel again.
Operation Walk Los Angeles was scheduled for a mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala next month. We have a long standing partnership with Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro beginning in 2004 and we were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to return and restore mobility to our patients there.
The past few weeks have transformed our lives in ways we could never have imagined. Over 15 Operation Walk missions from our teams across the US have been postponed or canceled. This has been as crushing to our medical volunteers as it is to the people we are trying to help in other countries. But today, we are all answering the call of our local health care systems to help at home.
Today, we would have been recovering 50 or more patients that received a new hip or knee replacement from our Operation Walk Los Angeles team in Managua, Nicaragua. Instead, our team leaders are scrambling to distribute supplies to our own colleagues in the United States and people infected with the COVID-19 virus.
Today, we would have been recovering 50 or more patients that received a new hip or knee replacement from our OpWalk Los Angeles team in Managua, Nicaragua. Instead, our team leaders are scrambling to distribute supplies to our own colleagues in the United States and people infected with the COVID-19 virus.
We are excited to share a video documenting our recent trip to Havana, Cuba by Brent Meeske.
Brent is a documentary filmmaker living in Topanga, CA. He spends most of his time traveling and filming for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, but last year had the opportunity to accompany his brother-in-law, Orthopedic surgeon Kirk Reichard of Spokane, WA. to Cuba on a humanitarian mission with Operation Walk.
The first time I met Maria Blanco Rodriguez, there was a lot of activity swirling around us. It was screening day, a time when our team evaluates each patient. These screenings help us to identify who the best candidates are for surgery, both orthopedically and medically.
During the screening process, each patient has their photo taken with their OPWalk number and medical file. These photos are placed in the patient’s file and used to help confirm patient identification during these first few critical hours. I had processed Maria’s photo and went to the patient waiting area to place it in her file. I identified her right away and explained that I was going to add her photograph to her file. I asked her why she didn’t have a smile for the camera and she explained that she hadn’t smiled in a long time. For nine long years, she’d been coping with excruciating pain in her right hip. This pain made it difficult for her to catch the bus each day to her job as a house cleaner. Once she arrived at work, her ability to complete her daily tasks was almost non-existent. She confided that she didn’t think she would be able to go on much longer and worried about what would happen to her and her three children.
“How can I support my family? I can’t sleep, I can’t walk to the bus, I can’t work. I’m so tired and I’m afraid that you won’t be able to help me.”
I gave Maria a hug and reassured her. As she left our waiting area and entered the screening room, I said a silent prayer that she’d be healthy enough to be selected for surgery.
Fast-forward two days and I witnessed a completely different Maria. She’d received her hip replacement on Friday afternoon, and by Saturday morning, she was walking down the hall with our physical therapy team. What made the biggest impact on me was the smile now in permanent residence on her face. Maria told me that she felt strong and confident for the first time in years. She proudly shared she was doing so well with her recovery that she would get to return that afternoon to her children.
Maria Blanco came to us sad and withdrawn, uncertain of her future and the future of her family. Two days later, she assured me that she was leaving with hope in her heart.
“Operation Walk is the best thing that has happened to me. I am so grateful that they came to Cuba.”
Pabel Machado Miranda has become accustomed to pain. For the past fifteen years, he’s dealt with pain radiating from his left hip. He told us that it was no surprise he was having difficulty walking. He proudly announced that he was a twin and that his twin brother had received a hip replacement years earlier. Pabel said he knew it was only a matter of time until his turn would come too.
Pabel is a civil engineer, a job he loves, but now says that he is chained to his desk. Due to his pain and limited mobility, it’s impossible for him to go out into the field to survey his projects. With his wife Lisa by his side, Pabel told us that he longed to be able to do the simple things in life: tie his own shoes, get dressed in the morning, cross his legs as he sat at his desk, and to be able to go for walks with his wife. He mentioned his love of baseball, something that he hasn’t been able to play since he was a teenager. “To be able to play again, to hit the ball, to run the bases….that is my dream.”
Pabel received his hip replacement on Saturday morning and by Sunday afternoon was ready to return home. During his stay, both he and Lisa made a big impact on the other patients. Both spoke English and helped to interpret instructions and words of encouragement from our volunteers as his fellow patients took their own path to recovery.
As Pabel was getting ready to leave the hospital, he wanted each volunteer and donor to know one thing: “The joy and gratitude both my wife and I feel are beyond words. This surgery will change my life.”
