Operation Walk New York- Mission to Ghana 2022
Donation protected
Hello
I have been an Operating Room nurse for over 30 years, and the majority of the time, my specialty has been orthopedics.
In those years, I have had the privilege of participating in thousands of total knee and hip replacements and seeing their positive impact on our patient's quality of life- many times getting them back to a very active lifestyle.
There are parts of the world where these life-altering procedures are unavailable, and the need for them is high. Ghana is one such country. There is a high incidence of sickle cell anemia in Ghana, and one of this disease's most commonly observed complications is avascular necrosis (or ischemic necrosis) of the femoral head. Avascular necrosis results from the temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the "ball" in the hip's ball and socket joint. What happens when the ball of your ball and socket joint dies is that you no longer have range of motion in that leg due to severe and debilitating arthritis- leaving people with a scissor gate or unable to walk at all. (See link to video below) Unlike arthritis in the US, the patients in Ghana are in their 20s and 30s, and these surgeries can change the trajectory of their entire life.
I learned about Operation Walk New York when I was looking for a group doing orthopedic mission work that could accept a donation of some total hip and knee implants from my hospital in VT. I was thrilled to be able to donate implants to them and was so impressed with the organization and their staff that I applied to volunteer on their next mission. Then COVID hit and the landscape in all our operating rooms and hospitals worldwide changed overnight.
After a two-year hiatus Operation Walk is headed back to Ghana again from Nov 10th -19th, and I am going with them! Four surgical teams will operate at St. Joseph Hospital in Koforidua, Ghana, for four days with the goal of performing around 100 total hip and knee arthroplasties. This is a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time- but this team is up for it!
I am fundraising to cover my travel cost and that of my nursing colleague Carmen Cummins. All additional funds will go directly to Operation Walk to help cover equipment and supply costs.
Thank you in advance for your support in helping me to use my skills to make a difference.
Organizer
Karen Cavender
Organizer
Waterbury, VT