Day three, the longest scheduled day of surgery, saw several successes worthy of celebrating. First, our initial round of patients were recovering brilliantly, up and moving and on their way to discharge. This process included extended care instructions from the medical team and receiving their favorite gift: an Operation Walk Maryland t-shirt!
The entire team celebrated our first discharged patient, Niza Analuiza, ready to make her way home just 24 hours after receiving surgery. Pictured below walking out with her granddaughter, Niza received a right knee replacement and looks forward to experiencing life with her family to the fullest, including long walks with her granddaughter
free of pain.
Rejoicing here from left to right: Jasai, Niza’s Granddaughter, Niza, Amanda, Rowena, Dave, and Jenny.
Team Member Spotlight
In addition to our patients, we also think it’s important to celebrate our amazing team. Today, we take a moment to shine light on one of our newest team members, Alexa Paganini.
First time volunteer Alexa is a Maryland native and is enjoying her first trip as a volunteer on the Operation Walk Maryland team. She currently works as a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins University, Bayview Campus, and is part of the discharge team here in Quito.
When asked what her first impressions were, Alexa replied,
“It was a little overwhelming at first, setting up, getting organized so quickly and in a new environment, but the energy is amazing. Unlike what we normally see back home, the patients here are ready to get up and going shortly after coming out of recovery.”
She further explained their commitment to getting better, “Before coming to the hospital, my first patient said he was only walking five steps at a time because of the pain. When we got him up to take his first steps, he walked the entire hall–more than 100 FEET! He got emotional and teared up. We later walked in to check in on him and he was doing the exercises in his discharge packet… that was cool.”
This is Alexa’s first trip out of the country (for work) and in addition to working closely with patients during the healing process, she has been instrumental to the team and patients by also serving as an unofficial translator. “Both of my parents were born in South America, and my first words were in Spanish. My understanding of the language, hearing it, is really great, but my speaking isn’t what I would call perfect.” (The team here disagrees.)
When asked what she might say to anyone considering joining Operation Walk Maryland, Alexa replied, “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it… the people are so grateful and seeing their smiles, tears, and determination is worth it.”
Alexa with one of our heroes, Chango Toapanta.