Operation Walk

Sonsonate, El Salvador

“Looking into the eyes of the people we touched in El Salvador showed me that one of the greatest gifts on earth is to relieve human suffering.”

Dr. William T. Long

Watching the sun come up through the jet window, our pilot announces we will soon be landing in El Salvador. Rubbing bloodshot eyes and shaking out cramped muscles we step onto the tarmac. Hot humid air greets our team of 52 volunteers. Orthopaedic surgeons, doctors, nurses, technicians join together for “Operation Walk.” Adding to the group are a few of us who lack medical skills but hope to fill the gap by offering willing hearts and hands. The first seeds of our trip were germinated in 1995 by Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr after a trip to Russia. Diverting from his original plan to only lecture, Dr. Dorr chose to operate on several people as part of the teaching process. Returning home he began thinking this could be done in other countries where they didn’t have the education to perform joint replacement surgery, or money to afford the prosthesis.
A short few years after “Operation Walk” began to flourish my husband, George, had his right hip replaced, restoring him to skiing, tennis and doing away with a painful limp, all of which reappeared as his other hip required replacement this past November. Learning about the work Dr. Dorr was doing, George knew he wanted to participate. Eagerly we packed our bags full of empathy, compassion, added a Spanish dictionary and a set of scrubs!

Arriving at Sonsonate Hospital Sunday morning, we immediately step into a moving sea of color, humanity and humidity. Countless stories etched in canes, crutches, and wheelchairs line the waiting room with mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters and brothers, waiting to be prescreened for operations. Faces and deep brown eyes are alive with a changing mix of anxiety and hope. “Buenos Dias Senor, Buenos Dias Senorita, the doctor is ready to visit you.” Pulling out the Polaroid, wedging myself between the doctor, nurse, patient and family member in a minuscule examining room, I squeeze off a photo for the patient’s chart, adding their name and an “Operation Walk” number to avoid any possible mix-ups between patients.
Surgery begins that very afternoon, three full days of surgery follow. Blanca receives two new knees, Rosa a hip, Angelina a new knee. Over the next three days 63 joints replaced and restored! Smiles (sonrisas) and tears, the most common language between people and cultures being shared with an easy abandon bridging all hearts. It’s been said if you want people to love you, “Eat their food and enjoy it!” Eighty homemade tortillas filled with cheese and meat “pupusas” given to us by Angelina’s family for our enjoyment arrive hot off the grill. Several times we’ve been cautioned to be careful about what we eat but we can’t imagine anything made with so much love harming us so we eat with relish leaving no pupusas behind!
Rumi, the poet said, “There is a field beyond right and wrong I will meet you there.” For us, May 12 through May 19, 2007, that place was El Salvador. We worked side by side without regard for differences, position or status. Sounding like music, words moved down hospital corridors through operating rooms and patient wards, “Gracias amigo.” “Thank you.” “Thank you”, each expression an acknowledgement that we were engaged in a single effort that could only be realized through teamwork at it’s best. Acting like a small powerful engine all fitly joined together we served one another with a good measure of humor grace and joy. . I’m reminded of a song written by Ruth Bebermeyer;

"Given To"
I never feel more given to
than when you take from me —
when you understand the joy I feel
giving to you.
And you know my giving isn’t done
to put you in my debt,
but because I want to live the love
I feel for you.

To receive with grace
may be the greatest giving.
There’s no way I can separate
the two.
When you give to me,
I give you my receiving.
When you take from me, I feel so
given to.

Today over 4,000 operations on hip and knee joints have been completed in Peru, Nicaragua, China, Nepal, the Philippines, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba and Panama. Dr. Dorr’s plan includes returning to these countries to examine patients on a regular basis. Eight teams have developed over the past 3 years, from Indiana, Denver, Canada, Virginia, Chicago, Boston, and Salt Lake City. These teams were created to meet an increasing need for the help “Operation Walk” offers. As of this writing a list of over 400 Nicaraguan patients await surgery. Other countries list similar numbers. “We go on these missions intending to help people but instead the people enlighten our souls!” Maria Khanuja, RN
You are invited and encouraged to join with us. Operation Walk is funded entirely through generosity and compassion. You can make a difference along with us; restoring mobility one joint at a time.
For additional information go to http://operationwalk.com and please contact Jeri Ward R.N. Director, Arthritis Institute (310)695-4828
email: jeri.ward@centinelafreeman.com.