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Empowering and Educating High School Women with The Perry Initiative

2012-05-09T18:49:38Z

Silver Spring, MD - Recently the WOGO team was the sponsor for a Perry Initiative event at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr Jennifer Cook, Dr. Rinelda Horton, Dr. Amanda Marshall and Dr. Mychelle Shegog all presented at the day of workshops. Twenty-six (26) local high school women immersed themselves in the challenging fields of Orthopaedic Surgery and Engineering.

Less than 7% of all practicing orthopaedic surgeons and doctoral-level engineers are female. The Perry Initiative is committed to inspiring young women to be leaders in the exciting fields of Orthopaedic Surgery and Engineering. They advance their mission principally by sponsoring hands-on outreach programs across the country for high school women.

Women’s Orthopaedist Global Outreach (WOGO) is a proud sponsor and participant in Perry Initiative events. WOGO’s goal is to empower, educate and engage women and their larger community in developing countries around the world including here at home in the U.S.

On May 5 at the Holy Cross Hospital event, using surgical models, Perry Initiative students repaired a broken tibia using an “ex-fix,” learned to suture, and corrected scoliosis. They also designed an orthopaedic implant, reconstructed a knee, and fixed a broken elbow .

Throughout the day, they interacted with leaders in the orthopaedic surgery and engineering communities, including the surgical team from WOGO and the University of Delaware’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

WOGO’s doctors and volunteers were thrilled to participate in the day. Check out some of our doctors in action with the students:

Dr. Amanda Marshall works with students - http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUva74wecQfV9nW23Hqib5sA&v=qB3nXVCVQqE&feature=player_embedded#t=3s

Dr. Rinelda Horton supervises students - http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUva74wecQfV9nW23Hqib5sA&v=xc1OeFriQiU&feature=player_embedded#t=3s

Dr. Jennifer Cook demonstrates for students - http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUva74wecQfV9nW23Hqib5sA&v=-eyhfWKuY_o&feature=player_embedded#t=6s

Dr. Mychelle Shegog working with the students - http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUva74wecQfV9nW23Hqib5sA&v=5l9cpGB2Ilo&feature=player_embedded#t=6s

Plans and Paperwork

2012-03-27T18:12:28Z

We are less than 200 days away from our 2012 medical mission to Lima, Peru. This means the entire team is starting to make preparations. There is a lot to be done.
Every team member needs to check and make sure our passports are up to date and won’t expire within 6 months of our trip. The 6th month rule always makes me go “hmmm” because if a passport isn’t expiring for 4 months after the trip is over what is the big deal about the 2 extra months – but I digress.
Doctors, nurses and other team members get their professional licenses together and we all need to gather emergency contact information. So Mom and Dad you’re on the hook again.
Our busy team leaders are organizing agendas, itineraries and rooming lists. And then they work on the bear of the project, shipping.
We will be shipping more than 9000 pounds of materials to Lima. In addition we will be shipping about 2000 pounds home. Shipping is complicated when it involves Customs. It is even more complicated when you are shipping medical supplies internationally. And it is expensive.
Did you know you can help? Make a donation to WOGO and it will help pay for our shipping expenses for the Peru trip. While the whole team is working on their paperwork you can do some online paperwork of your own completing out PayPal form.

Visit www.wogo.org/html/donate_now_.html

Thanks! Off to photocopy my passport!

PERU 2012 - WHERE WE'RE HEADED

2012-02-28T21:14:10Z

When I think of Peru my mind immediately goes to the beautiful Andes, stories of the great Incan people and one of the wonders of our world, Machu Picchu. But those are not the reasons we will travel to Peru in 2012.

WOGO’s 2012 mission to Peru continues our vision to transform lives in under-served global communities, reducing the burden of arthritis and disability through total joint reconstruction – which is not available in the areas we visit.

Peru is a country with people in extreme poverty, nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. Twenty-eight percent of the population does not have access to adequate sanitation facilities. Each day these people face a struggle.

Women in Peru represent 80% of a family’s labor force. They raise the children, keep the home, work in agriculture and ten livestock and work in industry. The men often have to travel looking for work. A woman with joint pain and deformity is not able to care for her family and contribute the way she would like. Surgery can release the joints from pain, correct deformities and repair the ravages of arthritis.

Peru is the third largest country in South America, filled with beautiful mountains, beaches, deserts and rain forests. The second highest mountain range in the world, the Andes, runs through. The country was first inhabited 15,000 years ago and one of the most advanced ancient civilizations grew there, the Incas.

The Inca people were a highly advanced civilization, building great cities and temples. They kept accounts and ledgers of their business dealings. They shared stories through song and painted wooden tablets. They built the massive city of Machu Picchu; the building blocks used to create Machu Picchu weigh 50 tons or more yet are precisely sculpted and fit together with great precision that the mortar less joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade.

The WOGO team looks forward to experiencing the beauty of Peru, the history and culture. Most of all we look forward to meeting the Peruvian people, getting to know them and perhaps spreading joy into their lives by helping to take away the pain from their knees, giving new hope.

I look forward to spending time with our future patients, meeting their families and sharing a week that can change lives. I know mine will be changed. Each WOGO trip changes my life, bringing me joy, hope and gratitude that I get to participate in the WOGO program. Less than 240 days until we leave!

You can learn more about Peru by visiting the country’s Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru

Nocha Buena!

2011-12-16T23:11:39Z

I’ve started researching for our next medical mission and I’m learning all about Peru. What a fascinating country! Of course with it being the holiday season I wanted to take a look at what is happening in Peru to celebrate.

Christmas is the most important celebration during the year in Peru. Christmas Eve is called Nocha Buena which translates to Good Night in Spanish. And boy do Peruvians have a good night when they celebrate this holiday!

Families gather together on Christmas Eve and celebrate with a meal of pavo (turkey), tamales and fruit cake for dessert. Homes, churches and villages are decorated with nativity scenes. These scenes stay on display until La Bjeda de los Reyes, the arrival of the Wise Men on January 6. Families attend mass together and place a figure of the infant Jesus in the manger scene at midnight. Once the children are off to bed the adults celebrate with dance, salsa dancing the night away.

While children are sleeping on Nocha Buena, Santa Claus fills stockings that have been placed near manger scenes.

Churches often organize Chocolatadas, where poor children and families are treated to a glass of hot chocolate and a small gift. The lines for these Chocolatadas are often very long and are a distinct feature of Peruvian Christmas. The poverty level is quite high.

Christmas was first celebrated in Lima, Peru in 1535. Now the city boasts huge Christmas Day celebrations including a bullfight and a procession celebrating Jesus’ mother, Mary. Parties, dances, and processions continue throughout Peru until January 6 when they celebrate the arrival of the wise men with Rosca de Reyes, a round, sweet bread decorated with candied fruit.

Enjoy this beautiful Peruvian carol: http://youtu.be/gbI_uh6p9aw

You can help the WOGO team as they plan the 2012 medical mission to Peru. Visit www.wogo.org and click the Donate Now tab. There are many ways to support the team, and donations make a great holiday gift.

Happy Holidays!

Give Thanks

2011-11-15T15:38:34Z

During the inaugural WOGO trip to Nepal in 2010 I wrote a status update on my Facebook page that has stayed with me. “Be thankful for what you have. Appreciate where you live. Hug your family. Be content.”

Our 2011 trip to Guatemala led me to a quote that I shared on the WOGO page. “Every morning when we wake up we have 24 brand new hours to live, what a precious gift. We have the capacity to live those 24 hours in a way that brings peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others.” -Thich Nhat Hann

It makes me think, how do I show my thanks for every special day we have? How do I show appreciation for the blessed life I have? How do I love my family and friends as hard as I can?

I’m lucky to have friends who founded the amazing team of people who make up WOGO. WOGO gives me the opportunity to work hard helping others, experience new things, and meet wonderful giving people. WOGO gives people opportunity to live their lives pain free. The WOGO surgical teams do amazing work repairing joints to give people a new lease on life. I’m thankful to be a part of that.

Next year the WOGO team is embarking on another medical mission, this year to the beautiful country of Peru. It is estimated that more than 50% of all Peruvian families live in poverty. Many do not have access to medical care. I feel blessed that I will be able to support the team giving back during this trip.

We all have much to be thankful for in our lives. In this time of thanksgiving show your support for the WOGO team and the medical mission to Peru by giving a donation to the program. Visit www.wogo.org/html/donate_now_.html to support WOGO. Every dollar helps, and the team will be grateful for your support.

Team Guatemala 2011 and their Patients

2011-09-30T21:49:20Z

Antigua, Guatemala 9/28/2011 - DAY5

2011-09-30T21:46:52Z

Dancing and Sharing

What a blast! I was able to participate in group physical therapy today and it was great fun.

About 25 of our patients were able to walk, yes WALK, to the atrium of the hospital, some using walkers, some crutches and one or two who took a ride in a wheelchair.

Once everyone was assembled, the music was turned on and we gathered to move our bodies along with the songs of Lady Gaga. Led by the team of Physical Therapists (PT) we tossed beach balls back and forth patient to PT and back all around the circle. Then we kicked the beach balls. Smiles all around and we got our blood flowing.

Watching the patients move their feet to the music brought tears of joy to my eyes. They were determined to move and exercise their new joints. First there was marching while they remained in their seats. Then everyone got up and there was marching and side to side steps while on their feet. Some of the patients got a little boogie going on and gave us some extra wiggle in their dance.

There was laughter and celebration.

At the end of therapy the PT team shared their thanks for the privilege of working with these wonderful people. Seeing how hard these patients want to work to get better is inspirational. The patients had a surprise for us though!

One by one they stood up to thank the PT team, Doctors and WOGO for coming here to Guatemala to provide these surgeries. They shared their hopes that the team will have blessed lives. They thanked us for not discriminating about age, income level. They shared blessings on all of us. And then one final patient said, “God bless the USA”. What a group of people we have here!

So after some sniffles and hugs we helped everyone back to their rooms. I can’t wait to visit with them again tomorrow!

Antigua, Guatemala 9/27/2011 - DAY4

2011-09-30T21:44:43Z

Boats, Buses and Canes

Our first patient is a gentleman who is always smiling, always willing to try a new PT exercise and ready with a kind word for his doctors, nurses and all of the WOGO team. You can tell he feels like a new man with his new joint.

His joy is contagious and even though I speak very little (VERY LITTLE) Spanish, we greet each other like old friends each day. Sitting with him and one of our interpreters his story began to emerge.

This dear man lives near the border of Honduras. In order to come to Antigua to receive his surgery he traveled for 3 hours in a small boat. Then he transferred to a bus, which he road through the mountains for 8 hours. Finally he reached Guatemala City where he boarded a bus for Antigua, which can be anywhere from an hour to a 2 hour trip. Now that is resilience.

He’s been a model patient and a good example to others. But thinking of his trip to the hospital, without a guarantee of surgery, merely a hope of a better life, makes me really grateful to be a part of the team that was able to provide life changing joint surgery for him. He will go home, by 2 buses and a small boat, and his life will be forever changed because he will be able to get around better, do his job without pain and enjoy his life.

What a blessing to be a part of his experience.

Antigua, Guatemala 9/26/2011 - DAY3

2011-09-28T15:00:55Z

Smiling Faces
There is nothing more uplifting than seeing the smiling faces of patients just one day after surgery. I walked into the hospital this morning and was greeted by a broad smiles of patients who were walking for the first time.

Our physical therapists work with patients and their families, teaching them exercises and strategies for walking, stair climbing and even simply standing up.

The patients are on their feet just hours after their surgery is completed. After their surgeons have done a follow up check up the physical therapy team moves in, armed with beach balls, walkers, canes and a whole lot of love.

Knees are bent, straightened out, bent again. Bounced on beach balls (carefully of course). Knees are used to stand up, and then take a first step, and then a stroll across the ward. Patients, families and WOGO staffers cheer everyone on.

An afternoon PT class featuring the musical encouragement of Salsa was very successful today. We watched an army of patients stand and step forward and back, and lift their feet to the music. Family members were treated to a simple floor show of joint replacement patients exercising their new parts. Smiles all around, and they are contagious!

And then the dreaded stairs which I am sure look daunting. The stairs in the hospital are steep and look scary to me and I haven’t just had joint replacement surgery. After salsa dance lessons one of our beautiful ladies tackled the stairs with ease. She went up and down like a pro. Not to be outdone, one of the gentlemen quickly followed suit. A bit of competition never hurt anyone!

BRAVO to this amazing group! You make me smile.

Also check out these Zimmer videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKeHVON78k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJztw0g62Qc

Antigua, Guatemala 9/25/2011 - DAY 2

2011-09-28T14:50:28Z

Amazing Women are Everywhere

Today lots of different things were happening at the hospital. We arrived early in the morning to be greeted by more than 50 hopeful patients and their families. The doctors screened every hopeful patient, watching them walk when possible, looking at X-rays and medical charts and asking countless questions about mobility, pain and lifestyle. Then the team moved to conference where each case was discussed in detail and decisions are made about which patients are good candidates for surgery. Keeping things moving smoothly and all of the patients organized, WOGO National Team logistics leader, Vandana Patel, OCS, kept everyone marching forward at a steady pace.

While patient screening is taking place many other things are happening. The OR team worked hard to get the rooms ready for surgery to start in the afternoon. Leading the team, National Surgical Logistics Leader, Jaquelyn Tyo, PA, made sure everything was ready for the afternoon of knee replacements.

Together Vandana and Jacquelyn do the impossible. They direct a team of sixty-plus individuals to make sure the patients have the safest and smoothest experience possible. Between them they are directing many strong personalities. It is amazing to watch their patience and strength as they guide the team through the activities that need to take place in order to complete a surgery. There are a lot of steps.

Working with the warehouse team to organize supplies, medicines, PT equipment, surgical supplies and even drinking water for the WOGO team
Working with the hotel on logistical things like hotel reservations, meals and meeting space
Organizing medical charts
Working with local doctors, nurses and translators
Managing hospital logistics
Getting photos of every patient
Setting up pre-screening rooms
Patient Conference
Surgical OR scheduling
Team work schedules
Pre-Op and Post-Op teams
Physical Therapy Scheduling
Setting up the Women’s and Men’s wards
Managing patient charts
Setting up classes for the patients and their families
Scheduling meals at the hospital
And SO MUCH MORE!

And these are just the things that happen when we’re in country, don’t forget all the pre-trip logistics! Bravo ladies! These two impressive women help the surgeons get the job done and WOGO to be successful. We thank them, every day.

Antigua, Guatemala 9/24/2011 - Arrival

2011-09-28T14:46:40Z

Arrival.

The WOGO team has arrived in Guatemala and has hit the ground running. Working with the Pedro Bethancourt school the team built out a brand new computer lab, painted and decorated a playground and got the kids up and running on Skype. With the help of Jerseys from Jersey, the school was provided with teams of soccer jerseys. The WOGO crew installed basketball hoops and soccer goals. And joining the fun, Soles 4 Souls outfitted the 400 students with new athletic shoes. The team has been busy.

The first day included visits with old friends and the making of new ones. The team walked over to tour the hospital and meet with the staff who will be a part of the team this week.

The hospital is amazing and I am sure I will write much more about it. It is run by Franciscans and operates on donations. It is clean, bright and cheerful. There are many permanent residents who have severe disabilities. But the patients are smiley and happy to see guests. Hopefully this week I will get to visit with the babies and little ones again. All of the team was touched by the faces of the residents and we’re all ready to help the people here.

The Operating Rooms are set up and tomorrow morning we start bright and early screening patients. Time for bed so we’re all well rested for a big day tomorrow.

Reflections - It’s the Bees Knees!

2011-09-07T17:22:49Z

Talk about an amazing group of people! The WOGO team is the bee’s knees and I can’t wait to see them all. And our mission is just 15 days away. For this trip the WOGO doctors are focused on knees. I wrote about the importance of the knee before our Nepal mission last year. Learned a whole lot!

Knee – Nepali pronunciation – ghΰ-dah and now I’ve learned that in Guatemala it’s rodilla in Spanish.

The knee is “the largest and most complicated joint in the human body.[2] … Since in humans the knee supports nearly the whole weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and the development of osteoarthritis.” Thank goodness for amazing doctors who can repair the damage of osteoarthritis and rebuild knees as needed. In Guatemala there is less than 1 doctor per 1000 people, so our team will bring much needed help to people suffering from this terrible disease.

Our WOGO surgeons have two main goals for this, and every, trip. To transform lives in under-served global communities by reducing the chronic burden of arthritis and disability through total joint reconstruction and to leave the communities we visit healthier, more knowledgeable and inspired to reach beyond prior limits. The surgery, medical care and therapy the team provides are really the bee’s knees!

The bee’s knees is a phrase adopted by the 1920’s flappers (fabulous women in their own right) and meant to express that something was excellent and of the highest quality, which is exactly how I feel about the WOGO team. Interestingly there is another connection between a powerful lady and the phrase. Bee Jackson was a dancer in 1920s New York and is credited by some historians as bringing the Charleston to Broadway. She was a World Champion Charleston dancer and used those knees of hers constantly and in outstanding fashion (funny how it all connects back to knees…).

The team is most definitely the bee’s knees. And our female surgeons who lead our team – absolutely.

Of course, I have wandered about learning about more “knee phrases” because what could be more helpful on a mission trip to repair knees than to know as many “knee phrases” as possible? Right? Right!

Don’t have a knee-jerk reaction to this activity of mine – I like to be prepared! This phrase comes to us from the 1920s and refers to the reaction a knee has when the patella (I think) is tapped. And it means having an automatic response to something. Frankly I hate when my doctor checks this. I don’t really know why I dislike it, I just do.

The results of our trip already appear to be Knee-high by the Fourth of July. Which means things are looking good, just like crops turn out that at July 4 are knee-high. And no one on the trip is knee-high to a grasshopper because we don’t bring small children along for the adventure (you’ve got to be at least 18).

So you can try to bring me to my knees, bend on one knee, or even take a knee but just don’t send any knee-biters my way.

Looking forward to learning at the knee of the team members and from the new friends we’re sure to make in Guatemala. It should be the bee’s knees for sure – and that’s not a knee-jerk reaction!