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

On every OpWalk trip, we have a final team dinner where first-time volunteers say a few words about their experience on our trip. It is always a heart-warming moment, we love welcoming new team members! On this and future newsletters, we will hear from a few first-time volunteers who joined us for Guatemala in August of 2021.

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Remember Rogelio? He is the Crooked Man from Dr. Dorr’s book “The Crooked Man, his Doctor and his Angel.” Rogelio took an 11 hour bus ride from his home in the mountains of Guatemala to come and visit the team that changed his life for the better. We were able to present him with the book that was written by Dr. Dorr and drawn by artist Gayle Garner Roski, and then had to tell him the sad news of their passing last year.

After a few tears were shed, Rogelio met Basilio, another man with 2 crooked knees much like his old ones. He spent some time talking to Basilio, telling him of his experience and how frightened he was. He told the man “Just do what they tell you, and you will be fine.”

Everything comes full circle when a healed patient encourages a potential patient. It is a gift to us to be able to see the good our work has done. Thanks to Rogelio for making the long trip to show us his progress and gratitude!

Congratulations to Operation Walk supporter Dr. John Dougall, who came in place #287 out of 900 at the Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon on September 11th, 2021. Dr. Dougall ran with Dr. Dorr in mind, and raised over $3,000 for Operation Walk via his GoFundMe campaign. He writes:

“As a tribute to Dr. Dorr (who sadly passed in late 2020), and to hundreds of amazing professionals who generously provide their time and expertise free of charge, I’m going to run the Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon on 9/11 and invite donations to Operation Walk. I never ran regularly before the Covid-19 pandemic and those 26.2 miles are going to hurt, but not as much as millions of people with joint disease hurt every day. Covid has curtailed the efforts of Operation Walk to help those people and when travel resumes, there will be more in need than ever.

If I can raise $2,620 by running for Operation Walk, all I need to do is persuade 10 people to do the same next year—and then for each of them to persuade another 10!

It’s been my privilege and pleasure to work with founders and participants from many of the amazing Operation Walk teams, including Dr. Dorr.”

On September 8th, 2021 we held our first in-person gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic started. It was a beautiful outdoor luncheon hosted by Board Members Dr. Terre Osterkamp and Marilyn Dorr at Annandale Golf Club. We welcomed many new faces! Our generous group of Angels brought guests, who we hoped would be inspired by our mission.

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The patient screening area was the quietest ever in Antigua, Guatemala. In an area that is usually bustling with family and friends of hopeful patients, now hopeful patients sat alone, worried that they had no one to share their fate with. Would they be eligible for surgery? The pandemic cast its shadow on all that were gathered. Now it wasn’t just a matter of their need of a knee replacement, but they had to pass a COVID screening to even be considered for surgery. They would have to pass again 24 hours before their operation. There was no question about wearing a mask…

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A group of our Board members had the opportunity to meet with Senator Manny Pacquiao to discuss a potential partnership in restoring mobility to the people of the Philippines and around the world.
We look forward to working together to provide joint replacement to those who otherwise could not afford this life changing surgery. We will share details as they develop.

Besides being our first trip since the pandemic, our upcoming trip to Guatemala will serve as a training experience for volunteers Tricia Lindsey, R.N. and Marilu Gonzalez, R.N., who will be stepping up as volunteer leaders in the OR and the floor, respectively. They are in good hands, as they will be learning from Jeri Ward, R.N. and Mary Ellen Sieben, R.N. who have been leading the Operation Walk Los Angeles team for over 20 years. Tricia and Marilu would like to introduce themselves below.

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Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, our Operation Walk chapter, like other Operation Walk chapters, has been anxiously waiting to
be able to travel again and to fulfill our promise to our patients. We have put together a small and diligent team of volunteers who will be traveling to Antigua, Guatemala this month to operate patients in dire need of a knee replacement. We have taken extensive measures to ensure the safety of our patients and team members, as well as our Guatemalan hosts. We’d like to introduce you to some of our team members and hear from them about their experiences with Operation Walk. We are all eagerly counting the days until August 21st!

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Operation Walk USA will be taking place from November 29 to December 4, 2021. If you or someone you know is in need of a total hip or knee replacement and does not have health insurance please visit their official website to submit a patient application as soon as possible.

If you are a surgeon or hospital administrator interested in providing free total hip and knee replacement surgeries for Operation Walk USA, please feel free to submit your information directly to Operation Walk USA.