So much happens behind the scenes year-round at the Operation Walk office and warehouse. Even when we are not traveling to help patients in need of joint replacement surgery, our months are busy with planning, organization, fundraising, and logistics. Thankfully, our dedicated volunteers are always there to lend a helping hand! This month we’re happy to introduce you to Stacy Kelso, who has taken on a more involved volunteer role with us this year.
How to Become an Angel
“Dear Angel, I do not know how I can ever thank you for helping me. I am far away, but I will never forget you. I suffered with pain in my hip for 6 years. I could barely get out of bed and could not stand for more than a few minutes. I had to stop washing clothes and cooking for my family because of the pain. I was embarrassed that my 15 year old son had to help me dress and use the bathroom.
Taking a New Step With Operation Walk
Hello! Alejandra here, I am the Administrative Assistant working behind the scenes every month to design and email our newsletter to all our wonderful supporters. I am very excited to announce that I will be taking the next step with Operation Walk this summer as an Administrative Coordinator. This new position will allow me to continue supporting our volunteer team and lead surgeons, patients, Board of Directors, and our colleagues abroad in a more involved capacity, ensuring the communication between all parties.
Being Brave
I was never the first one to jump in the water. But I was almost always pushed in, by a brother or some other scoundrel who did not care that I couldn’t swim. That is kind of how my work life was with Dr. Dorr. He pushed me (gently!) and didn’t give me time to hang by the side of the pool! He taught me to jump in and figure it out.
I have had to apply that lesson to figuring out how to safely get Operation Walk Los Angeles back to work. The pandemic set us back last year and for most of 2021, but it is time to jump in again. Yes, there are things to worry about (getting wet? Swallowing water?) but these are things that a strong team can figure out together.
RSVP to the Angel’s Luncheon
The Angels will meet again! The annual Operation Walk Angels’ Luncheon will be held on September 8th, 2021. So much has changed since our last luncheon. Tragically, we lost two of our leaders, Dr. Larry Dorr and Gayle Garner Roski. The pandemic changed the way we conducted our lives for over a year, but like the Phoenix, the Angels will rise from the ashes and continue the great work they were doing to help support the patients of Operation Walk.
Operation Walk Wish Bracelets
Imagine facing each morning with the certain knowledge that each step you take will be a painful one. Taking care of your loved ones, walking your children or grandchildren to school, making your way to work and laboring to provide for your family; each moment a struggle against a debilitating joint disease. Now imagine that the surgery that could change your life is out of reach.
For many people around the world this life is all too familiar. It is Operation Walk’s mission to reach as many of these individuals as possible, who suffer with chronic pain from bone and joint diseases, and provide them with a surgery that will change their lives. An all-volunteer group, our team gives their time and talents to perform knee and hip replacements at no cost to our patients.
You can help us in our fight against joint OPERATION WALK disease. When you order an Operation Walk Wish Bracelet, 100% of your donation goes to help us purchase the supplies, medications, implants, surgical equipment needed on our missions.
Each unique bracelet is lovingly handcrafted by Operation Walk Los Angeles volunteers. An individual bracelet is just $6 and bracelets can be purchased in groups of 5 for $25, groups of ten for $55, and groups of 20 for $115. Our bracelets make a beautiful and thoughtful gift for Mother’s Day, graduation, or to celebrate that special someone’s birthday or anniversary.
Order your Operation Walk Wish Bracelet today and help make someone’s wish come true.
Spotlight on Operation Walk Volunteer: Ava Baldwin
Ava’s volunteer service for Operation Walk began in 1996, when her husband Kyle Baldwin was selected to provide physical therapy on our first trip. She helped support the team, like so many families, by staying home and holding down the fort with child rearing, jobs, caring for elderly parents and maintaining the household, while our team went out on surgical missions to help others.
Having a Master’s Degree in Communication, Ava enjoys fundraising and procuring supplies, packing and organizing in the warehouse, and coordinating the Operation Walk Angel luncheons. Her favorite partof Operation Walk missions is interacting with patients and the team, and also trying not to butcher the Spanish language!
Important Date Changes for Operation Walk Los Angeles Events
DR. DORR’S CELEBRATION OF LIFE
We had originally announced a Celebration of Life for Dr. Lawrence Dorr on December 5th, 2021. That date has now been changed to Saturday, November 6th, 2021 and will take place in the afternoon at Annandale Go lf Club in Pasadena. This will be a memorial service where we can share stories and pay tribute to Dr. Dorr. Time and details to be announced.
OPERATIONWALKANGELS’LUNCHEON
Our annual Operation Walk Angels’ Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, September 8th from 11a m – 1:30 pm at Annandale Golf Club.
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.
Annual membership in the Angels is $1,000. One hundred percent of the Angels’ tax – deductible donations are allocated to medical missions and patient care.
Long-time volunteer Ava Baldwin will be coordinating the event, and Board Members Jill Baffert and Dr. John Kumar will be the guest speakers.
Please consider becoming an Angel today. When you become an Angel, you become a part of someone’s road to recovery. We hope to see many new faces at this year’s Angels’ Luncheon!
Many hands make short work
Getting a project done has always been easier for me when a friend or colleague pitches in. On April 24th, so many people pitched in to help us repack our cargo, that we were done working in half the time I anticipated.
This all dates back to winter of 2019. Operation Walk had a mission scheduled for March of 2020 and our cargo was being collected, packed, and prepared to ship out in early March 2020. We pack about 9,000 pounds of cargo. Some of the items have expiration dates. The countries that we help have strict regulations on what they can accept. Medications must be “good” for 6 months from entry into the country. Things like gloves and catheters and IV tubing are subject to failure if the plastics and rubber they are made of get old or hot and they start to disintegrate. Some of these fragile items are inside of “packs” that come in sealed boxes, so each box has to be checked to see if items inside will expire or spoil.
John J. Callaghan, M.D., Elected As Operation Walk Los Angeles Board Chair
Dr. John J. Callaghan is the Lawrence and Marilyn Dorr Chair Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedics and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Loyola University. After serving in the Army at Walter Reed Medical Center, he was on the faculty of Duke University before returning to the University of Iowa where he practiced for 28 years.
Passing The Baton
The events of 2020 presented Operation Walk Los Angeles with greater challenges than we had previously encountered. While no corner of our planet was untouched by the pandemic, it seemed to hit our organization particularly hard.
In March of 2020, when we made the difficult decision to cancel our scheduled trip to Nicaragua, we were frustrated. In October, when we finally decided to call off the fundraising gala, we were disappointed. In December, the passing of our founder and great leader, Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr left us heartbroken. Now, in March 2021, I am encouraged that Operation Walk is alive and well.
Season of Change
I have become a master of procrastination. I am sure many of you have too, over the past year. I spent two hours visiting the dermatologist last week, having put off an appointment for well over a year. The pandemic has been a very convenient excuse for putting things off. Now I will have to deal with the consequences; Mohs surgery for a big basal cell cancel and topical chemo for squamous cell patches that grew faster than my online shopping list! What have you put off over the past year? Do not put off those health checks. Doctors offices and clinics have safe, organized setups to accommodate their patients. Don’t let a small problem turn into a big one like I did! Read more