DAY TWO
Some of us wake up to the sounds of birds and nearby church bells, while others wake up to the splashes of the team’s 5:30AM voluntary cold plunge. Over breakfast, our chaplain guides us through a morning meditation centered on the idea of solidarity: “Sometimes we are providing care; sometimes we are the people in need. We are all one people.”
Small groups begin to leave the grounds at Quinta De Las Flores and head to Las Obras for the first day of surgeries. Our surgeons Dr. Andrew Cramer, Dr. Patrick Worth, Dr. Karen Zink, Dr. Heather Zarour, and Dr. Kelvin Yu will focus on general surgeries while Dr. Ty Erickson will specialize in urogynecology.
They work with teams of anesthesiologists and nurses in operating rooms—while other medical professionals care for patients in pre-op and recovery areas. Together with interpreters, a solid support crew, and the dedicated staff of Las Obras and FIP, our team begins a week of healing.
The team cares for twenty-four patients over twelve hours—many who had courageously suffered with debilitating medical issues for years. Cases last between a half-hour to two hours, with twenty-minute breaks between. It’s a demanding schedule that requires focus—and our determined crew met the demands with grace, humor, and a sense of shared purpose.
Later in the day, in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit), the sound of laughter breaks through. A patient is telling jokes while Liz Gianone interprets for the nurses. The PACU is a delicate place as patients wake up from surgery and levity, like this moment, is a chance for everyone to find healing. Between jokes the patient takes a moment to compliment the team and his surgeon Dr. Andrew Cramer. “The surgeon was so gentle,” the patient tells the nurses.
At dinner, the team holds space to share reflections of the first day of surgeries. Our fundraising lead Avik Maitra holds back tears as he tells the team how special it was to have the opportunity to observe his husband of ten years working in the operating room for the very first time. Martin Woodbury shares a similar experience, observing with his wife Lori Woodbury, who has been working alongside Dr. Ty Erickson for two decades.
“I was in the room for two procedures,” Martin says, “it’s like a symphony orchestra—everybody in there is doing their job—I was absolutely amazed at the stuff that goes on in there—and it all just comes together and flows.”
We flow not because it’s easy, but because we trust that we’re not alone. When we come together in solidarity with our patients and each other, something sacred happens. In unity, we don’t lose ourselves; we expand.
Zachary Carlsen, Team Blogger
