Now that all surgical cases are complete, there were only a couple more activities left for just a portion of the team to finish up before the team would be able to push their project over the finish line. Overall, 65 surgical procedures were performed, with the majority being knee replacements, followed by foot and ankle cases and finally hip replacements. The efforts of the 46 members of Team Hope in Motion have initiated the transformation of these 65 lives, and also the lives of their families.
Thursday evening, a team dinner was shared at a local restaurant along with congratulatory messages delivered by Dr. Mike Berend and Dawana Page from Team Hope in Motion. The successful culmination of the project was also recognized by Faith in Practice representatives Ivonne Anzueto Bardales and Andres Garcia. Spirits were high and a sigh of relief was breathed as another successful culmination for Team Hope in Motion was achieved.
The team was able to sleep in an extra hour today with the morning yoga starting at 6:30 a.m. while a local volcano, de Fuego, was burping out an occasional sign of activity near the surface of the City of Antigua. Surgeons and Physical Therapists made one final trip to the Obras Hospital to complete their final rounds and post-op therapy. Normal patterns of recovery and rehabilitation from total joint replacement and corrective surgery on the lower extremity were observed along with more and more smiles replacing the grimaces shown during immediate post operative recovery. You will see many images of patients walking the halls and climbing stairs with their walker or cane and soon those walking aids will be cast aside as they discover the new capabilities of their repaired skeletons.
After completing the final rounds and physical therapy, a portion of Team HIM ventured to the Pacaya Volcano south of Antigua. Some hiked and some rode horses up the 1300 foot climb on the trail towards the active portion of the volcano. In the midst of the volcanic rock, hot steam arose through cavities in the earth. Some folks actually roasted marshmallows to enjoy a sweet treat for the energy to make the trip back down to the base of the volcano. The comradery of the Team was amazing at the end of the week with many new friendships made and respect for all members of the team that were an integral part of carrying out this 2023 mission trip.
One notable knee patient was a coffee farmer from a remote area of Guatemala. He rode his horse to the nearest town and then jumped on a bus for a five-hour bus ride for a knee replacement in Antigua. As seen from the video, he has an extreme varus, or bow legged, condition that a person can image has developed from riding a horse his entire life. Dr. Klaassen was able to provide him with a new knee that corrected his bow legged condition and gave him a nice new articulating surface for his left knee. After one night in the hospital, he was able to put his cowboy hat back on and make the reverse trip back to the coffee plantation. He and his family left the hospital with smiles on their faces, and words of thanks to the team. Hopefully he will be able to return next year to have his right knee fixed to provide him with many more years of coffee harvesting in the future.
The next trip for Team Hope in Motion is not yet scheduled, but is tentatively planned for the February/March, 2024, timeframe. As the relationship between Team Hope in Motion, Faith in Practice and Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital continue to mature, the team will strive to expand the number and type of patients that are helped in Guatemala. Stay tuned with the Team HIM site and Facebook page for future developments.
Respectfully submitted,
John White
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