Pure hearts change lives in Ecuador
Piedad Palo Zeugo’s life was filled with pain and sadness. The 58-year-old man from Guanazàn, Zaruma Canton in south central Ecuador stoically accepted the hurt until the Operation Walk Canada (OWC) team arrived in the City of Cuenca. He was one of 25 people to receive a life-changing hip replacement during the 2024 mission to the impoverished South American country.
“I used to suffer in silence. It affected me mentally,” he wrote in a thank you letter to the mission team. “I would cry and now you are making my life better.”
For eight days in April, a team of 32 surgeons, nurses, and other supporting health professionals traveled to Ecuador to deliver life-changing hip replacement surgery to those who can’t get access through the limited local healthcare system.
Hamilton-based physiotherapist Brooke Biggs was part of the April mission. She provided post-operative care that included pain education and helping patients get back on their feet after their surgery. She was struck by the resiliency and positivity of the patients she worked with.
“They have this newfound mobility and they're excited and motivated,” she says. “We really had to tell them that they have to take it easy for a while.”
Brooke (2nd from left) and her colleagues gather around one of the patients.
The 2024 Ecuador mission started with a one-day clinic during which 76 people came from far and wide to be assessed. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to help everyone, but many will return next year for surgery. Of the 25 people selected, more than half were very complex surgeries. They included addressing conditions such as secondary osteoarthritis due to developmental dysplasia of the hip which involves significantly shortening the thigh bone to reduce the hip from its dislocated position.
The 2024 mission was Brooke’s second time volunteering with OWC. She thinks the volunteers get as much out of the experience as the patients. “It is literally one of the most meaningful things that I have ever done in my life,” she says.
OWC Executive Director Janet Tufts says, “We can’t thank our sponsors, donors and volunteers enough for the gift they have given to those who received surgery. We are also extremely grateful to our industry suppliers Smith & Nephew and DePuy Synthes. This mission would not have been possible without the generosity and continued support of all those involved.”
It is this support that has changed Piedad’s life. “I’m very happy you have given me a chance to live better and follow my dreams,” he wrote.
“It’s been very nice finding such nice people with pure hearts.”
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