My 14 years of experience as a founder and team member of Operation Walk New York
By Brett Greenky, M.D
It is 14 years of Operation Walk missions after Seth, Kim, and I inaugurated our chapter of Operation Walk New York and added it to the network of 15 sites in the United States.
Kim and I spent two trips prior to our inauguration trip to Kathmandu Nepal with trips with two established teams, Denver and Pittsburg. These teams were both high performers in the Operation Walk network started by Larry Dorr, M.D. from LA.
We learned some things from the other teams and it was helpful in our initial organization of our first trip and subsequent trips. However, I’ve come to realize we have a uniquely talented group of both surgeons and support staff.
Brett
Kim
Seth
We consistently provide the highest number of new joints to the patient population we serve on each trip. There is an incredible satisfaction in knowing that we spend a whole year fundraising, collecting equipment, and getting ready for a trip. We feel both a personal and moral obligation to help as many patients as possible while we’re actually there on the ground.
Each time we go we’re raising the bar for the one we set last time to the one we set this time. 110 hip and knee replacements in four days is no small accomplishment in a third world rural hospital two hours outside of the capital.
Case Presentations
It’s not like everything always goes smoothly. Electrical service in our hospital is variable day to day. The power goes out once a day or on this trip four times a day. It’s unpredictable! The autoclaves break, which of course is a dramatic speed bump to our ability to provide the services. Nonetheless, our team is resilient.
We (that usually means Kim Murray) created a mobile team. The team packs up the instruments to go to another hospital to sterilize them overnight and brings them back the next day. There is a video ‘chase scene’ starring members of our team rushing newly sterile instruments back against the flow of traffic, sirens blaring, to be on time for our next surgical day! This is OpWalk NY in action!
The whole team is dedicated to the patients we see that first day in the clinic whose hopes and dreams for mobility and pain relief have been leading up to the possibility of getting a joint replacement to change their lives. One can see it in their eyes.
The hope is palpable. The chance comes just once a year! We are all there to give that hope to the patient, but we can’t without the help and support of our team. Year after year the team steps up.
The camaraderie among us is so important to me. The dedication of the surgeons provides both the skill and resources to do the operation. The fundraisers and the people who contribute financially deserve our appreciation and accolades as well.
But on this trip, the most amazing thing was the team adjusting to the autoclave breaking with a minimal setback. The team effort to sterilize the instruments against all odds allowed us to provide the single largest number of joint replacements of any trip, of any Operation Walk team in any country, in the entire history of Operation Walk.
The baseball analogy is “down by three runs,” the count is full, and it’s the bottom of the ninth inning. Cito and our central sterile team hit a grand slam- the patients win the game!
Score 110 to zip!
Stay tuned for the next trip!
Writtren by: Brett Greenky, MD, MS
Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists
sosbones.com
Operation Walk New York is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.
To learn more about Operation Walk New York visit our website: https://operationwalknewyork.org/
#OperationWalkSyracuse #OperationWalkNewYork #Mobility4ALL #Changinglives