by Melony Teague
Your support for our annual trips to Ecuador is changing lives.
I bet you have heard that before, but take a moment to imagine this scenario:
You are a young mother of an active three-year-old and you are immobile because of severe arthritis in your hip. Every day is a challenge because of the pain you experience and no matter how much you want to do for your family, you just can’t. What if you do not have the resources to have the surgery you need?
For a twenty-five year old woman in Ecuador, this was pretty close to her reality. The EMAS Operation Esperanza team, led by Dr. Thomas Greidanus. M.D., served from Jan 24 until Feb 5, 2020 and changed this woman’s situation. She was given a hip replacement and was able to return home the next day. You can see by the smile on her face, and that of her son, that this is going to mean a brighter future for them both.
Photo: Post surgery celebrations. From left to right: Dr. Rick Nadeau, Dr. Sam Stetsko, Dr. Thomas Greidanus, Dr. Nelson Greidanus, Dr. Benjamin Greidanus.
The team also performed 34 hip and knee replacement surgeries and provided intra articular joint injections to relieve pain for the candidates who were not able to have surgery, providing physiotherapy and walking aids as needed. The dental component of the team offered dental services in the hospital, rural schools, a shelter and two orphanages, seeing 428 patients.
Thomas & Janet Greidanus are EMAS Ecuador Team Leaders who serve faithfully with Operation Esperanza.