Today, we would have been recovering 50 or more patients that received a new hip or knee replacement from our OpWalk Los Angeles team in Managua, Nicaragua. Instead, our team leaders are scrambling to distribute supplies to our own colleagues in the United States and people infected with the COVID-19 virus.
Our mission dates were supposed to be March 18-25, but as those dates approached, Dr. Dorr, Jeri and Mary Ellen knew it was too risky for our team to leave the country. The virus was infecting many people around the world, though at that point there were no cases in Nicaragua. We were worried about two things: that we could inadvertently introduce the coronavirus to the people in Nicaragua, and secondly, our volunteers were concerned about the prospect of a two week quarantine; being separated from family and the financial implications of missing work. The painful decision to abort the mission was made. Although we are heartbroken for the patients that were waiting for us, we made the right decision.
As things escalated here in California, the decision was made to donate our PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to local hospitals running out of PPE due to the high volume of patients being cared for. It’s important for us to care for our local colleagues, many of whom have volunteered their time to OpWalk over the past 24 years.
Thank you to Mary Ellen Sieben and her son Jim who worked tirelessly to pack and prepare the Nicaragua cargo. This is a huge task. It’s crushing to do that much work, then have the mission aborted. Thank you Mary Ellen for pulling out the materials that can help us here in our time of need.
When our borders are open, we will get back to our Nicaragua mission. We hope that our supporters understand that the masks, gloves, shoe covers, face shields and other PPE will need to be replaced prior to our rescheduled mission. We are counting on the generosity and commitment of our supporters to help with this, when the time is right. You can donate here.
Meanwhile, we wish all of our followers well. Wash your hands, use social distancing, stay inside and help to slow the curve on this virus.
Jeri Ward-Executive Director, Operation Walk Los Angeles