NASH continued its partnership with Operation Walk Denver and its mission to provide free surgical treatment to patients in foreign countries during a recent trip to Honduras.
NASH Administrator of Patient Support Noemi Osorio, a registered nurse, and NASH Orthopedic Advisor for Patient Care and Diagnostic Service James Boyle accompanied other Operation Walk volunteers to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in October.
The Operation Walk team conducted 28 hip replacement surgeries over two days. Osorio assisted surgeons in the operation room, while Boyle, a certified physician assistant, helped coordinate the trip and procedures.
Boyle said there was one patient experience that stood out, involving a 22-year-old woman who is extremely disabled due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. During Operation Walk’s last trip to Honduras in 2019, she had to cancel her surgery due to an unexpected medical emergency that nearly caused her death. Four years later, she needs two knee replacements and two hip replacements. Because of her fragility and medical condition, though, she can barely tolerate one surgery at a time. In Honduras, Operation Walk performed a successful hip replacement and the patient has recovered wonderfully.
“She was walking the halls and doing stairs the next day,” Boyle said. “She is now waiting our return to have her other hip replaced.”
More about Operation Walk:
Operation Walk is a national non-profit organization that started in 2000 and made its first international trip in 2003, to Nicaragua. Operation Walk provides free surgical treatment for disabling forms of arthritis to those who don’t have proper resources. The group’s lasting impact has been felt in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.