9/11/15 Veracruz clinic day one

The first day in clinic was clearly a reunion day. All 13 patients were being seen in preparation for their second side knee replacement. All had their first knee done on the WalkStrong surgical trip in October of 2013. They are doing remarkably well. All but one patient has more than 120 degrees of flexion and all had full extension. My hat is off to the WalkStrong volunteers and supporters that made this day possible. You have made a remarkable difference in the day to day lives of these people!

The only complication was a quadriceps injury as a result of a fall. Dr Amador is scheduling her for surgical repair. 

It was a great day, happy patients getting ready for their second surgery.
I can't wait until October!!!
We will see 12 more on Saturday. 

Preoperative Medical Team Update

Veracruz, Mexico

September 11, 2015

Our small preoperative medical team arrived back in Veracruz Thursday, Sept 10 around noon. We started in Nashville at 4:30 am!  

We were met by our old friends and colleagues Drs Elena Vidal, Octavio Amador (recent SJRI fellow), and Paco Vidal (new chief of Orthopedics).  After dropping our bags at the hotel (Los Angeles Suites, official home away from home), we went to the hospital for a meeting with the new hospital director, Dr Guardado, also an old friend and until this new position, Chief of OB/Gyn.

Sadly, the previous hospital director, Dr Zarate,who we had just recently met 3 weeks ago, had a sudden heart attack and passed away.  We had a great meeting! Dr Guardado is extremely supportive of the WS mission and is already working to make our job here easier. We also met with Ivan Aleman head of the Beneficencia.

There is good agreement on both goals and methods, with an emphasis on better communication. I think we have the people in place who will make the WalkStrong mission much easier. Tomorrow we begin to see the patients scheduled for the October surgical trip.

MJChristie