Dr. Steve Meyer is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon raised on a small farm in Northwest Iowa and is currently practicing Orthopedics at CNOS in Sioux City Iowa. As founder and president of the Siouxland Tanzania Educational Medical Ministry, Dr. Steve has been the recipient of both the AAOS and AAHKS Humanitarian Award as well as a State of Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame recipient.
National Teachers Day
In honor of #TeacherAppreciationWeek we wanted to highlight the teaching that happens during our mission trips. While in-country, OpWalk doctors share with colleagues advanced knowledge of joint replacement. Our team teaches while working side-by-side with anesthetists, surgeons, internists, nurses in the operation room, floor or recovery room, physical therapy, and central sterilizing of instruments. A typical mission may include:
It’s All About Hope
It began in the imagination of Southwestern Australian artist, Marion Graeber. An idea fulfilling a request to create an Angel to represent the spirit of Operation Walk and the women who support its mission to restore mobility. What followed was a painting that soon became known as “Hope”.
This was a fitting name because that’s what our organization is all about, restoring hope and mobility through joint replacement surgery. The spirit of hope is what helps us year after year to bring together a diverse group of volunteers who give their time and talent to improve the lives of others.
Tanzania 2023: The Team is Ready!
50 patients will receive life- changing surgeries in Arusha, Tanzania in August 2023. They are currently being screened by the surgeons in Tanzania. With technology, they can share the X-rays in real time with our doctors here at home.
Thanks to our awesome volunteers, the preparations for ONE mission take about 9-12 months!
A Note from Operation Walk’s Chairman of the Board, Dr. John Callaghan
Starting out of the Blocks Fast! We haven’t lost a Step!
It has been over two years since the unexpected passing of Lawrence D. Dorr, MD, founder of Operation Walk. Dr. Dorr founded Operation Walk in 1994 to provide free joint replacements for people in underserved countries around the globe and in the United States. He started a movement with Operation Walk Los Angeles that has grown to over twenty chapters through the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Operation Walk has provided over 15,000 joint replacements to underserved patients.
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Angels in the Air
Operation Walk Angels started in 2017, when the late Gayle Garner Rossi went on an Operation Walk mission with Dr. Lawrence Dorr (1941-2020) to Antigua, Guatemala. Gayle went along to learn more about how Operation Walk helped people in underserved countries. Gayle, a renown artist, was taken by the beauty of the country and the stories of the people that came to the Hermano Pedro Hospital hoping to be helped. Every person that came to the screening clinic had been praying for a miracle. Hips and knees that had limited mobility and caused pain for years, had the possibility of being operated, and an operation that was unaffordable to all of them suddenly became possible.
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January 2023 Pre-trip to Tanzania Mission Accomplished!
Operation Walk Team Leaders conduct preliminary trips before every Operation Walk mission. Mary Ellen Sieben, RN, has been going on pre-trip and Mission Trips for over 25 years! The amount of time travelling for a pre-trip often exceeds the amount of time in the actual country.
On the pre-trip, the team coordinates surgery plans with the local hospital administrators and doctors. We arrange screening, operating, & recovery rooms, cargo and security, pharmaceuticals, hotels, transportation and meals. In 48 short hours in Tanzania, we are able to establish an ongoing relationship between Tanzanians and Americans. We build trust and commitment to helping the good people of Tanzania. We agree that the mission will happen.
Under the leadership of Dr. Paul Gilbert and the experience of Mary Ellen Sieben, Operation Walk Los Angeles is excited to return to Tanzania!
On August 11-18, 2023, our 50-person team of doctors, nurses, physical therapists and volunteers will provide FREE hip and knee replacements to ~50 Tanzanians. Since Covid, the Tanzanian doctors have not been able to perform any hip or knee replacement surgeries. NONE! These life changing surgeries are long overdue, and your support is greatly appreciated.
Ask A Doctor (by Dr. John Kumar, Orthopedic Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, Downey)
By Dr. John Kumar, Orthopedic Surgeon @ Kaiser Permanente, Downey
Operation Walk Board Member & Team Surgeon
Q:I was advised to get a hip/ knee replacement- how long will the implant last?
A:You should expect the current implants to last 20 years or more.
Q:How do I know WHEN I need to get a joint replaced?
A:Consider a joint replacement when your pain is limiting your ability to function on a day-to-day basis. If you have arthritis, find yourself avoiding activities because of pain, and no other treatments are working you should consider joint replacement surgery.
Small Acts Can Make a Great Impact
Small acts can make a great impact in both our mission to #restoremobility and in life. Many thanks to Lisa Fujimoto and her daughter, Madison, for sharing this story with us!
“My daughter, Madison’s basketball team, the Venice Ravens, joined together to assemble 60 post-op bags this past weekend for patients in Tanzania. I personalized the canvas bags by ironing on the OpWalk logo. The girls were in charge of securing the toiletry items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, shampoo, and conditioner. Dr Paul and Cindy Gilbert took time out of their busy schedule to do a special zoom session to thank the girls, talk to them about Operation Walk and explain our mission to restore mobility around the world. The girls will also help pack on Cargo packing day!”
-Lisa Fujimoto
Physician Assistant and long-time volunteer
What Small Acts Can We Do to Make the World Walk Pain Free?
There’s still time to make a tax-deductible donation to help Operation Walk reach its 2022 goal of $500,000. When this goal is achieved, your donations will cover the full cost of our 2023 mission trip to Tanzania.
Please Remember Operation Walk in your end of year charitable contributions. Donate now!
Questions? Contact Marion@operationwalk.org
Thank you so much for your help to #restoremobility around the world. We couldn’t do it without you!
