POP Happenings Blog

Mission Summary:

• 10 free successful surgeries for children by our team. This time two cases were scoliosis and the others were a variety of orthopedic problems ranging from trauma to several different deformities.  This marks the first mission focused on a variety of orthopedic problems, not just scoliosis. All patients did well. 
• Two additional nurses were trained in postoperative care of the scoliosis patient. They received a certificate and have been given the task to pass on there knowledge to 2 additional nurses so that there could be continuity.
• Multiple POP team members participated in painting the walls of one of the rooms in the orthopedic ward. It was a true transformation.
• We visited our beloved Lisbeth Garcia in her home. Lisbeth has been thriving since her surgery in St. Louis. She is working on perfecting her English so that she can one day come to the United States to study. She wants to be a pediatrician!
• We also visited Yonalfrin Diaz in his home. He the next patient coming to St. Louis for corrective surgery for his severe scoliosis. He has a condition called Neurofibromatosis I. It always amazes us to see how these patients live day to day.
• We also visited Omar, a child we cerebral palsy that we have been sponsoring for the last 2 years.  They live in a remote area in the mountains.  The mom cooked dinner for all of our team in appreciation!
• Our President, Dr. Madelyn Stazzone gave a lecture about POP to over 200 nurses at the Universidad Nacional Evangélica.
• As always, each of our patients received a stuffed Teddy bear wearing a POP logo t-shirt.

Our challenges for the week:

• The operating rooms are still being renovated and the hospital is running on just two rooms. The director of the (Hospital) graciously granted us one room during the week of the mission. Thank you Dr. Rosa Morel!
• Due to the heavy rains in October and November, there had been flooding all through the island. In addition, the roofs were leaking throughout the hospital. The original room that was going to be used for as an ICU for our more complex patients had to be switched because of a leak.  We had some leaking in the recovery area for our less complex children as well but it was contained.

Below are a few images of our trip:

 

Mission Summary:

-7 free successful surgeries for children by our team!(6 scoliosis, 1 spine trauma)
-4 physician lectures, 4 nursing lectures and 2 patient rooms and cast room decorated.
-We all worked very hard and in the end we found we were even more efficient than we have ever been.
-We have a very dedicated team of people many who return each year to volunteer for a week to help children who would never have the opportunity for surgery if we didn’t operate.

The POP team is lead by Dr. Mady Stazzone who has lead our group on 5 successful medical missions.

Our challenges for the week:

-Having access to only 1 operating room versus 2
-Working through and around renovations with limited supplies
-An c-arm machine stopped working that we used in the OR
-Our shipment with medical supplies for the hospital was not delivered during our medical mission
-We worked during a 3-day physician and nurse strike

Thank you to Dr. Migeul Luna and Iohan Fernandez our Dominican surgeons for working along side of us and for the ladies of the Volunteer Group for Jesus for the Children for their support each year. We could not be successful if they weren’t dedicated to helping us in their hospital.

Below are a few images that summarize our wonderful time working with the staff at the Hospital De NiÑo Arturo Grullón in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

 

Friday, March 11th Summary:

As things wind down, we reflect on some of what we have accomplished, but our energy and momentum don’t falter. It’s another full day. Yesterday we treated 2 patients, Abigail and Nikaury. Today, we treat our final scoliosis patient of the trip, Cristal. We will wrap up this mission’s educational programming with 2 amazing talks and will complete the hospital renovations.

Our final day of the workweek begins like every other, with an excellent lecture by one of POP’s medical team. Here Dr. Enrico Stazzone, POP co-founder, VP and lead surgeon delivers a talk on Neuromuscular Scoliosis to the residents of the Children’s Hospital in Santiago.

Here the POP medical team regroups to discuss the patients, how they’re recovering, and discuss medication inventory. (Left to Right, ICU nurse Beth Seebeck, ICU doc Phil Oren, MD, Dr. Madelyn Stazzone, and ICU nurse Jennifer Felber.)

Abigail’s mom visits her during recovery. A moving moment of the love these families have. Parents don’t leave the hospital at all.

Nikaury rests comfortably. Her surgery yesterday was a huge success!

ICU Nurse, and 5-time POP mission participant, Beth Seebeck delivers a lecture on post-operative patient care, including physical therapy and pain management. Beth is passionate about what she does. POP doctors attend this lecture to reiterate the importance of the nursing team and the value they bring to patient care.

Nurses receive stethoscopes from POP thanks to our generous donors.

Decorations for the Orthopedic Recovery Rooms are complete. A patient’s mom helps us move the beds around and encourages our work. We were glad to provide a little color to the room.

After the final scoliosis surgery on Friday, POP doctors find out about a baby so dehydrated that the staff needed help with the IV. POP doctors volunteer to help. Here we see Dr. Phil Oren, Dr. Richard Nigro, and Brian Ho assisting. True collaboration and an unwavering sense of helping others in need.

Speaking of generosity, two moms purchase a gift to say thank you to POP’s team for treating their daughters. They are so incredibly warm and thoughtful.

The POP team has completed the mural and the cast room staff are so grateful. The hospital team asked for our logo to be the focal point of the room. How thoughtful!

We end our mission trip with a team photo outside of the hospital. Our little family! We are sad to leave, but will remember the friendships and memories we made. (Left to right front row: Dr. Madelyn Stazzone, Dr. Miguel Luna, Ann Rosen, Lisa Simani-Oren, Dr. Phil Oren, Jessica Candelaria, Dr. Richard Nigro, Yve Adams, and Brian Ho. Left to right back row: Dave Graff, Dr. Enrico Stazzone, Beth Seebeck, Jennifer Felber, Steve Stamphel, Kelly Williams, and Brian McCarty.)