Juan Diaz is a 27-year-old young man with a passion for living and for his art. When Juan was five years old, he was playing with his cousin and fell because his knee was unstable. He was in horrible pain and had trouble walking due to his knee becoming very swollen. When he went to the doctor, he was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). At 9, he developed a passion for painting. He had real talent and it became one of his true joys. With limited mobility, most activities were impossible. Therefore, painting became his sanctuary. For the next 14 years, Juan went through multiple treatments, but was not able to walk without significant help. The RA continued to break down his body. Some days, he was in so much pain that he could not even move. Through some treatment, he was able to walk on good days, but the trajectory of his health was becoming more evident. Eventually, he would not be able to walk.

The type of treatment that Juan needed was really not a possibility for someone living an hour outside of Granada. The RA had destroyed his hips and his right knee. At first, he did not have a lot of pain in his fingers; the RA had caused severe deformities as it attacked the cartilage, but the pain increased to such levels that he could no longer paint. In 2016, he met Shelley Craft.

Shelley had traveled to Nicaragua on a medical mission with her daughter and after her mission ended, Craft and her daughter traveled to an island to relax for a few days. The manager of the eco-resort where they were staying asked if they had heard of a local artist who struggled with RA. They had not, but immediately wanted to meet him and see his art. When Shelley met Juan, it was heartbreaking for her. She met a young man who had been decimated by years of untreated RA.

The paintings and sketches of the self-taught artist showed great talent. However, she knew that without treatment, his art career would end. At that moment, Craft vowed to Diaz and herself to somehow get him treatment. Shelley had quite a task ahead of her to get Juan the help he needed. She worked diligently and connected with Operation Walk and who decided to talk on Juan’s case. Through the coordination of several teams, they focused on helping Juan. In January of 2017, the Midwest chapter successfully completed a bilateral hip replacement, then the Los Angeles Operation Walk team replaced Juan’s Right knee in March. When he first met the LA team, he wanted to present one of his paintings to Dr. Dorr. It was a painting of the national bird, the Guradabarranco, which means the guard of the canyon. The title seems appropriate, as OpWalk is attempting to help guard Juan from the terrible effects of RA. After a successful knee replacement, Juan successfully completed his physical therapy and headed back home in the company of his sister and father.

Before he left, he completed several drawings of thanks for his donors and made many friends throughout the ward.  In fact, the day of his release from the hospital he did not want to leave until he knew that one of his fellow patients was assured safe travel home. We wish this caring and talented young man all the best during his recovery and are honored to have met him during our latest visit to Hospital Roberto Calderon.

Andrea Jimenez is a seventy-year-old mother of five children who works locally in Antigua as a caterer. Andrea has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for over twenty years, which has worsened due to her many years working as a housekeeper. Since she was a single mother, she needed to find work that was less physically demanding, so she began cooking and delivering her food.

Each morning she would get on the bus with her client’s orders, but as the years went by it became more and more difficult to do. In the past year, her pain has increased so much that she needs to schedule several days of rest between deliveries. Her knees had become so stiff that other passengers had to physically lift Andrea on and off the bus. Andrea considers herself to be one of the luckiest people on earth.

She is confident that with the surgery she received from Operation Walk, not only will she be able to go back to a full work schedule, but she will also be able to do the one thing she loves the most, dancing. Salsa is her passion and she cannot wait to get back on the dance floor. “This is my second chance,” she told me a day after her surgery. “The pain is already less and I am walking. Thank you for giving me back my independence.”

Caterino Riz is a 64 year-old husband to his wife Angelina and father of eight children. Caterino supported his family for many years by working in a coffee factory. Eight years ago, the pain in his knees became so bad that he had to quit his job. The next six years held a series of temporary jobs to make ends meet until three years ago, the unbearable constant pain made completing the smallest tasks impossible. Surgery was unthinkable for him, as it was over ten times his yearly salary.

Caterino heard about Operation Walk and the opportunity in Antigua to receive his much-needed surgery. He traveled six hours by two buses to get to Hospital San Pedro Hermanos just for the chance to be screened. The ride was long and painful, but Caterino says that he arrived by the grace of God because he was chosen to receive a knee replacement.

Caterino was one of the first patients out of surgery and was walking within hours of its completion. He quickly transitioned from a walker to crutches and was able to plan his return home just a day and a half after his operation.

His wife was very worried about the tole that the long journey would take on Caterino and mentioned his situation to their local fire department. The “bombaderos” agreed to make the journey into Antigua and bring him home in the ambulance so he would be more comfortable and at a fraction of the cost of the bus ride.

Caterino and his family say they are beyond blessed and are so thankful for the care they received from both the hospital and Operation Walk volunteers. He cannot wait to get back on his feet and start providing for his family again.

Ana Violeta Lemus has spent most of her life as a wife, mother, and teacher. She has dedicated herself to educating children and spent many years as a second-grade teacher. Even after the death of her husband, she felt a purpose because her students were waiting for her each day.

Ana’s knees began to fail her. After suffering through the pain for ten years, she regretfully decided that she could no longer teach. She began to rely on her three children to help her around the house and provide her with daily needs, such as a place to live and food to eat.

Ana found out about Operation Walk through a family whose mother received a hip surgery from our organization. She felt that this was a ray of hope, that if she could receive knee replacement surgery, she could regain her independence and go back to the job that she loved. Ana traveled over an hour from her coastal town in Guatemala to Antigua to see if she had a chance to qualify for surgery. To her delight, she was chosen to receive the first surgery not only of the day but of our trip to Guatemala.

Dr. Ken Gustke and his team from Tampa, Florida, replaced Ana’s right knee successfully, and an hour and a half later, she was up on her feet. Ana has a very strong work ethic and was ready to start rehabilitation right away. She practiced several times the day of her surgery and was a constant presence in the halls of the hospital the following day. On the morning of the second day after surgery, Ana’s youngest son made the trip to the hospital and Ana declared that it was time to go home. Her doctors and physical therapists agreed and Ana was released. She is thrilled with her progress and knows with some hard work she will be able to return to her second graders this coming January. She thanks the team and those who give to Operation Walk because “they made my dearest wish come true.”