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“This is a blessing. I really appreciate this opportunity.” -- Duana Ulrich |
MOORESVILLE,
Ind. – While more than 1 million hip and knee replacements are performed in the
U.S. each year, countless men and women continue to live with severe arthritic
pain and immobility because they cannot afford joint replacement
surgery.
One
such patient received a free total joint replacement surgery Dec. 7 at the Center
for Hip and Knee Surgery
in Mooresville as part of an Operation Walk USA program.
The
patient, Duana Ulrich from Franklin, Ind., met the hospital’s criteria for
financial assistance and joint replacement surgery.
Center surgeon Michael E. Berend, MD, donated
the surgery, a single knee replacement. Implant manufacturer Biomet of Warsaw,
Ind., is donating the implants, and the Mooresville hospital and staff are
contributing the rest of the services.
Ulrich,
a church custodian for 18 years, was progressively unable to do her job because
of the arthritis in her right knee and was recently laid off as a result. She
found out about the Operation Walk program from fellow church member Melinda
Quarles, RN, who works in the Franciscan St. Francis Health—Mooresville Intensive
Care Unit.
Ulrich
had no health insurance and “would’ve been freaking,” she said, if the
Operation Walk program had not been available.
“This
is just so amazing,” Ulrich said. “This is a blessing. I really appreciate this
opportunity.”
She
said she hopes her new knee will help her pursue a new career, using the
master’s degree in business administration/health care administration she
earned from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2010.
Her surgery took place at the Center for Hip
& Knee Surgery in Mooresville, ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint surgery
five years in a row (2007-2011) by HealthGrades, one of the nation’s premier
health care rating companies.
Arthritic
disease is the most common cause of disability in the United States, affecting
approximately 48 million Americans, or more than 21 percent of the adult
population. Hip and knee replacement surgeries are the most cost-effective and
successful of all orthopedic procedures, eliminating pain and allowing patients
to resume active, productive lives.
Operation Walk is a private, not-for-profit,
volunteer medical services organization which provides free surgical treatment
for patients in developing countries and in the United States.
Established in 2000
by Merrill Ritter, MD, who also founded the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery, Operation Walk
Mooresville also educates in-country orthopedic surgeons, nurses, physical
therapists and other health care professionals on the most advanced treatments
and surgical techniques for diseases of the hip and knee joints.
Through generous donations of time, money and
supplies, Operation Walk Mooresville has been able to touch the lives of
countless citizens in several countries, including Cuba, Guatemala and
Nicaragua.
Most recently, a medical team sponsored by
Operation Walk Mooresville traveled to Managua, Nicaragua, from Feb. 26 to
March 3, 2012, to perform life-changing surgery for patients suffering from
immobility and joint pain.
In four days, the
group performed 104 surgeries for 84 patients, including 89 joint replacements
and 15 foot and ankle surgeries.
The team of
volunteers included surgeons, nurses, physical therapists and many others, who
pulled together to perform more surgeries in one week than they normally can do
in a year. The team brought the necessary equipment and donated supplies along
with the expertise of the Operation Walk Mooresville group to get this
important mission accomplished.
The next medical
mission trip will be to Guatemala City, Guatemala, Feb. 24–March 2, 2013.
Each trip costs approximately $175,000 for
transportation, cargo, shipping, medical supplies, medications, room and board.
For more information, visit operationwalkmooresville.org.
