In the fall of 2018, we had the privilege of meeting Eduardo Mendoza. At the time, he was 37 and working as a computer engineer. He walked into our patient screening with a pronounced limp. Eduardo had a 1″ difference in the length of his legs, requiring him to wear a lift in his shoe. Although the lift helped, it was still difficult to walk and at the end of the day, he struggled to keep up with his colleagues and work duties.
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We received a sneak peek of the OR renovation project from our friends Hospital Obras del Santo Hermano Pedro. Many Operation Walk teams, among other charity organizations, contributed to this valuable project. We want to commend the staff at Hospital Obras del Santo Hermano Pedro for their work coordinating this renovation. This project will tremendously benefit the community and will ensure that even more patients receive the surgical procedures they need in Guatemala.
“We were on our pre-trip this weekend, and these pictures don’t do it justice! It is amazing! All the Operation Walk teams will have an amazing experience with all the upgrades. Antigua was well-organized to begin with, and this only adds to the desire to help!”
-Michelle Burdette, R.N.
Thank you to Anabella Morales for sharing these photos.
We are honored to have Reon join the Operation Walk Board. She will be an asset to our new leadership.
About her background:
Reon Roski joined Majestic Realty Co. in March 2007 as Senior Counsel. She was named Managing Director in September 2007. A member of Majestic’s Board of Directors since 1997, she is the granddaughter of the company’s late founder, Edward P. Roski Sr., and daughter of its current Chairman and CEO, Edward P. Roski Jr. and the late Gayle Garner Roski, a long time Operation Walk supporter.
We are looking for volunteers in the following areas to help grow Operation Walk’s platform and reach in 2022.
To sign up or inquire about a committee, please contact us.
Our team leaders conducted a preliminary trip to Hospital Ortopedico Fructuoso Rodriguez in Havana this month. They met with hospital administrators and host surgeon Dr. Roberto Balmaseda to ensure the success of our mission and the prompt transportation of our cargo. Operation Walk leaders conduct these preliminary trips before every Operation Walk mission. We are excited to return to Havana in March of 2022 with our medical team. We have been traveling to Cuba since 1997 and are grateful to be able to continue our humanitarian and educational projects there.
We are now registered as a charity with Amazon Smile! This means that every time you shop on Amazon, a percentage of your purchase automatically goes to Operation Walk Los Angeles. Using Amazon Smile is as easy as shopping normally on Amazon. Just follow these simple instructions:
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At the end of 2021, our friends at Hospital Obras del Santo Hermano Pedro in Guatemala put out a call for donations to renovate their Operating Room facilities. Their OR welcomes dozens of medical brigades year-round from all over the world, including many Operation Walk teams. The renovation of their OR facilities would ensure that free-of-cost and life-changing surgeries can continue at their hospital for many more years to come.
Every year, we are blessed to welcome new Angels and to count on the continued support of our Founding and long-time Angels. The Operation Walk Angels are a group of women who, through philanthropy, help provide the gift of mobility to individuals in desperate need of life-transforming surgeries, primarily in developing countries.
Those are my words as 2021 turns in to 2022. I am grateful for all that happened in 2021, even though the year started out with the heartbreak of losing Dr. Dorr, it also reunited me with many friends, patients, former Fellows, colleagues and family of his. Marilyn Dorr and I were overwhelmed with the support, cards, kind words and memories from so many of you. That gave us the strength to keep moving ahead with Operation Walk, when at times we just felt like throwing the blankets over our heads and crying.
His legacy lives in our hearts. Check out the photo gallery of his memorial.
We would like to thank two long-time volunteers, Sharron Whiteley and Julie Margaret Anderson, for inspiring our OpWalk Wish Bracelet fundraiser. These two ladies made hundreds of bracelets and were able to raise enough money to give the gift of mobility to one of our patients in Guatemala this summer.
Ernestina received a knee replacement because of the hard work of our volunteers and the generosity of our donors. Sharron was able to meet Ernestina after her surgery and let her know the story of our Wish Bracelets and how they made her surgery possible.
Thank you Sharron and Julie, and thank you to each and every one of you who donated during this special campaign.
– CAMI WARD
“After years of suffering from my knee, today I want to infinitely give thanks for the social work of Hospital Hermano Pedro in Antigua, Guatemala. Especially to the staff who, with their kindness and good service, made this moment more pleasant, and to those prodigious hands of Operation Walk. Read more