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Through the generosity of many, a total of $125,000 has been received or pledged to date toward our goal of $150,000. Thank you to those who’ve already responded. Your gift in honor of Linda’s years of dedicated service to Surgicorps has been matched by the Demos Family, and will result in increased service to those in need around the world now and in the future. A list of contributors to date may be found  here.

Once funded, the Linda Esposto Legacy Fund will provide annual allocations to support the following: 1) one-time or multi-year capacity-building investments in the countries we serve such as equipment and/or facility enhancements; 2) volunteer service recognition in the form of trip subsidies for future travel; 3) the development of our Exploratory Travel program to fund regular exploratory travel and the potential for more annual trips in the future; and 4) funding for special needs and/or initiatives to help us respond to challenges and opportunities. Read the full message from Jack Demos here.

Surgicorps International is packed and ready to leave next week for our 15^th trip to Vietnam from October 27th-November 7th with 27 medical and non-medical team members. This will be our final trip of 2017.

We will once again partner with Odonto Maxillo Facial Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Our team members hail from Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.

Return team members include Thanh Armagost, Tu Armagost, Neal Armagost, Bill Bookwalter, Donna Bookwalter, Will Bookwalter, Christine Bowman, Tara Burns, Christine Depenthal, Jim Fleck, Rama Joshi, John Merrill, Jim Moses, Susan Moses, Khoa Nguyen, Duc Pham, Jimmy Ricciardi, Nicole Verdecchia, and Gary Wingate.

We welcome several new team members this year as well:  Breck Fresen, Derrin Jarvis, Jeff Mapson, Sharon Ricciardi, Sharon Rohr, and Becca Selah.

Surgicorps will once again offer a vision clinic and distribute hundreds of prescription and reading glasses in country.

Jack Demos will lead the team as Medical Director and Linda Esposto will ensure things run smoothly on all fronts as our Trip Coordinator.

Best wishes team Vietnam 2017 as you set out to change many lives. Stay tuned and follow us, for trip updates and pictures, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

I carefully listened to Linda Esposto on Guatemala “packing day “in the Surgicorps office about the list of incidentals to remember for the trip: what to bring, what not to eat or drink, about the hotel, the hospital, the crew and so on. As an anxious first-timer trying to be well prepared, I asked past team members, what to expect. Key suggestions: purchase a nice sized backpack, bring clothes you are prepared to leave behind for the Guatemalan people and, as Linda said many times, “Guard your medical bag with your life!” I felt prepared, but nervous for the unknown.

I met my first Surgicorps team members at the United check- in line in Pittsburgh. Jodie, a surgical nurse and Katie a nurse anesthetist, greeted both my son Jono, 17, also a first-timer and I with bright smiles at four o’clock in the morning.  Later we met a friendly young woman Amelia, a senior at Penn State as we headed to security. Amelia was making her fourth trip to Guatemala as a Spanish translator. “Go this way, you’re already TSA Prechecked, see? Most Surgicorps medical mission travelers are TSA PRE-checked and you will go through security fast.” Amelia said with a smile. The teammate connections and relationships were already beginning.

As my son and I walked to the gate we discussed our meeting of two nurses and a translator, both valuable team members offering a skilled service. What would we, a stay at home mom and a rising high school senior with average Spanish capabilities, be able to contribute on this medical mission I wondered?

When we arrived at baggage claim in Guatemala, Surgicorps’s team members from Pittsburgh, Boston and New York gathered. I saw a red headed woman with a Boston accent taking charge collecting the medical bags on a cart. Anxious that our medical bags were getting hijacked, I stopped the woman in action only to find out she was Stephanie Charron, the trip coordinator. She assured me, all was safe and sound.

Monday was patient screening day. A busy day for both medical and non-medical team members. All Surgicorps members met at Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital cafeteria to review the rules, regulations and procedures of the hospital. Once completed, we headed upstairs to be greeted by masses of patients-in-waiting. Beautiful Guatemalan families with eager looking and gentle faces filled the chairs that lined the walls of the open-air quadrangle. My son and I were assigned to take Polaroid photos of every patient, assign them a number and secure a wrist band with that same number. The patients were young, old and many were shy, but they were always trusting.  It only took a gentle touch to their shoulder with a smile and simple Spanish phrases like like “muy bonita” (very pretty) and Jono and I would have a new friend. It was a hectic and fast-paced day. When time permitted in between photos, we supplied coloring books, crayons, and a few treats to distract the younger ones as they waited. The photographed patients went on to be evaluated by the various surgeons and anesthesiologists for potential surgeries.

Monday through Friday were surgery days. White hand-written papers of operating room surgical schedules dawned the walls explaining who was getting what surgery, with which surgeon, and at what time.  I recognized several of the names on theses schedules as those I had connected with during screening. Our job – Jono and me — was to comfort and ease any fears in the pre-operative waiting area, and assist the nurses taking vital of patients in post-operative.

Pre-op could be difficult as often patients had a long wait time. It isn’t particularly easy for a toddler to lay waiting for an hour or longer to be rolled into surgery.It was even more difficult for the young mothers who waited nervously with their children. My son and I would divert their attention with iPad games or just a game of peek-a-boo. We made sure not to neglect the young mothers with smiles and hugs to ease their fears. Jono and I made a lot of fast friends on surgery days: Yeichler, Jamie, Juan, Eugenia and Javier are some of the patients we remember fondly and miss now, months after the trip ended.

Friday, the last night, was a very special one as the entire team is treated to a beautiful dinner.. The restaurant was in a beautiful old Spanish building with each room alluringly enhanced by candlelight.  As I went to sit down next to my son, I realized both the seats on either side were occupied. His table was full of Surgicorps team members he had grown close with in just a week’s time and he was fully immersed in conversation with them. His new friends are some of the most interesting people we have ever met. Jono had many things to talk about with them, like their global travel experiences, new food they tried, what it’s like being in medical school and the surgical transformations they’ve completed for the Guatemalan people they’ve befriended. Many of the younger team members were college students serving as Spanish translators. Jono, a Spanish student hopes to be able to speak the language fluently someday soon. The translators were happy to answer his questions on how to become so comfortable with conversational Spanish. They suggested watching Spanish movies with English sub-titles and listening to Spanish music.

I found a seat at another table with team who have become new friends. I sat next to the Medical Director of the mission, Dr. David Kim, from Boston, an esteemed plastic surgeon who transformed many hand deformities during the week.  After an amazing meal, he stood to share a few words with all of us. He said when he saw our team together there was something special about it and the bonds would be strong by Friday. We all felt it. It was something I didn’t expect.

As a non-medical team member who went on this adventure with a teen son, nothing was more gratifying for me than to see Jono’s excitement to fulfill a dream he had had for quite a few years. To have the privilege to go on such a mission together, was the epitome of spending quality time with my child.  To see him flourish and grow in this climate in all he had done and been exposed to during the week was again an unknown that exceeded my preconceived notions. Surgicorps provided an opportunity like no other he had ever had that opened a door to a world outside of his own suburban walls. But it was there in Guatemala, helping, easing people’s pains, bonding, learning, that I saw he had a purpose and a place he felt personal satisfaction and gave birth to a desire for more experiences like it.

Surgicorps’ 7^th trip to Zambia is ready to go! We leave on September 16^th and return on the 23^rd with 20 medical and non-medical team members. We look forward to partnering again with Beit CURE International Children’s Hospital in Lusaka. Our team members hail from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, California, Colorado, Florida and Wisconsin.

Our returning volunteers include Anne Argenta, Diane Bremer, Rita DiFrancesco,  Betty Hearne, Alex Hutchinson, David Kim, Lauren McGrath, Richard Montilla, Bernadette Montilla, Megan Natali, Lynn Novier, Scott Pearson, Modupe Sonuyi, Alyson Winston and Charles Yang.

A warm welcome to our new team members this year: Ian Brotman and Leah Tedder.

Jack Demos returns as Medical Director and DeNese Olson, our Director of Operations, is the Trip Coordinator. Lori Ellis will be making her 11th trip and is serving as Medical Coordinator.

Thank you Team Zambia for helping Surgicorps serve people in need in Lusaka. Stay tuned and follow us, for trip updates and pictures, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram!

Surgicorps is preparing for our 15th trip to Guatemala from August 5th-12th with a team of 35 dedicated medical and non-medical volunteers. Our team this year includes: 13 members from Pennsylvania, 14 from Massachusetts, 2 from California, 3 from New York and 2 from and Colorado and 1 from Florida.

Surgicorps looks forward to working with hospital staff at the Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital again in Antigua and seeing old friends while meeting many new patients on screening day.

Previous Surgicorps team members include Dylan Anthony, Reza Borna, Kevin Cohen, Amelia Hare, Amy Hatch, Dave Metro, Mario Metro, Richard Montilla, Farzaneh Nabizadeh, Victor Nieto, Katie Respet and Carolyn Terman.

We welcome several new team members this year as well: Patricia Avis, Cathy Boyle, Lytia Fisher, Anne Hardart, Livia Jaen, Linda Levy, Meghan Lauze, Emily Metro, Christine Miller, Alexandria Montilla, Julie Myslinski, MJ Pelusi, Jonathan Pelusi, Julia Poppenberg, Lyla Sax, Robert Slamin, Sara Straesser, Lisa Szuksta, Walter Szuksta, Nicole Verdecchia, Jodi Yingling.

David Kim returns as Medical Director and Stephanie Charron will be the Trip Coordinator.

Surgicorps launched the Bon Voyage Crowdrise fundraiser again and several team members are participating in raising funds to support our general Guatemala fund. These donations support the purchase of medical supplies and shipping costs amongst other expenses. Thank you to all team members who are sharing the Crowdrise page on their personal pages!

Surgicorps is grateful to these generous individuals who help make our shared mission of serving individuals in need around the world possible through their commitment of time, energy and resources. Stay tuned and follow us, for trip updates and pictures, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

To spend precious moments over several days talking with the patients and families was deeply enriching for me during my inaugural trip with Surgicorps International.  They displayed quiet stoicism and great courage.  Their surgical needs were the result of injuries, burns and birth defects that caused speech and hearing problems. Many of these Bhutanese people traveled from villages hours and even 3-4 days on buses to arrive at the Paro Hospital.  Of the 52 patients treated by Surgicorps, Sonam, mauled by a bear, burn victim, Kuenden, and bilateral cleft patient, Janyang are typical of the people who are treated.

Sonam was attacked by a bear, in 2007, when she was just 14 years old and is the youngest of 7 children. She lives in the eastern region of Bhutan. Her parents are still alive and are farmers. Sonam was walking the 30 minutes to non-formal education (NFE) where people who may not have had the chance to go to school at an early age may learn the basics.  She was all alone and the attack was sudden and from behind.  She never heard it and didn’t see it coming.  Sonam felt the bear maul her face, fainted and fell to the ground.  While she was unconscious, the bear dragged her from the road about 25 feet into the woods.  She felt lucky that the bear left her right next to a cliff and didn’t drag her or toss her off the cliff.  Her injuries were on her right lower leg, left back of the head, her nose and face and her right ear.  The claw marks are still visible on her knees.  When she awoke, she walked 10-15 minutes to her friend’s house who then notified her parents.  An ambulance was called and transported her 3 hours to the Mongar hospital. She was in the hospital for 8 days.  Fortunately, her family was alerted that Surgicorps was in Paro and could help.  She traveled 16 hours in the ambulance to receive treatment in 2007.  For this ongoing reconstructive surgery, Sonam travels 2 days by bus to get to Paro.

Now 24, Sonam is married to Gyembola and has a 4 year old son.  She “has a good life.”  Her husband takes good care of her. She is so grateful to Surgicorps for the treatment she receives and that Surgicorps has made her a “proper nose.”  Sonam went on to thank the doctors, the hospital, Tarayana Foundation, the whole team for giving her a second life.  If not for Surgicorps, she doesn’t think that she would have lived. It is a dream come true, a miracle.  The Surgicorps team is like a “god” to her.

Kuenden, 2 years and 5 months old.  His mom is Yangchen, 24 years old.  His dad is a teacher on the primary level.  Kuenden suffered a burn injury to the hand when he was 1 + years old by accidently touching an electrical heater while his father was repairing it. His mom was in the kitchen doing dishes when this happened.  This accident happened in Paro, but the family lives in Samtsi, in southwest Bhutan.  It took her 8 hours on a bus to get to Paro.  Yangchen expressed her happiness that her son’s hand could be repaired by surgery.  She couldn’t ever imagine his hand could be treated, but had been hoping for it and heard about Surgicorps on the news channel.  She thinks Surgicorps International does a great job!

Janyang, age 5 months has a bilateral cleft lip.  Her mom has said that people are sympathetic towards her.  The family lives in Paro, only a 20-minute drive to the hospital.  Tshewang is 29 years old.  She heard on the news that Surgicorps was coming to the hospital.  She is grateful and could not imagine a person “like me” getting treatment for her daughter.  She says thank you to Surgicorps for coming to Bhutan and for providing treatment to people at no cost.

The patients and the families were calm and patient while waiting outside for hours.  They asked for nothing and consider the work of Surgicorps to be miraculous.  It brings value to their lives beyond their wildest expectations in Bhutan.