That’s A Wrap! (Recap of the past few days)

Just a little recap of what happened Thursday-Saturday, Thursday the team had another fairly long day, but we were able to leave by around 9 to head to one of our favorite local spots for dinner, El Correo.

Friday we had one case which Dr. Mencio, Dr. Mayer, and Dr. Fitch took the helm on. It was a hip which meant it took a good chunk of the morning to complete. The rest of us took inventory on what supplies we had and transported them to the dungeon for storage. We had a few goodbyes as Kathy, Amy, and Dr. Tobias left us on Friday. After we were all packed up at the hospital, we thanked our incredible volunteers one last time before heading out.

Stutz, Mencio, Brock, Fitch, and Dr. Andrews took a few more items off site for storage as the rest of us headed to a taco shop owned by a local friend of ours for lunch. We were thankful the guys made it to lunch as we found out they rode in the back of an ever so safe truck through the winding streets of San Miguel to take the remaining items to storage. I hear “How to Save a Life” playing in the background now…

The rest of Friday was filled with the team’s favorite activity: SHOPPING! If you’ve ever been in a KF team member’s home and liked something you’ve seen, odds are it’s from the Mercado in San Miguel. We are pros at packing glass ware at this point too, so look for KF Moving and Storage set to open in 2016.

Saturday some of us voluntarily got up at the crack of dawn and went on a hot air balloon ride over the city! It was one of the most incredible things some of us have ever done, and gave us a new perspective, literally, on the city. Saturday afternoon we loaded up two vans and headed out to one of our favorite restaurants/ranches, Nirvana, for one last meal together. We always have an incredible time and love the chance we get to unwind and reflect on the week. We missed Stephanie alta and baja along with Candice and Ralph who had to catch early morning flights home that morning!

Sunday we all headed to the Leon airport and prepared to part ways once again. It’s never easy saying goodbye to such incredible friends who only all get together once a year, but it makes the reunions that much sweeter. We thankfully had a fairly uneventful travel day compared to years past and we are all now home. Thank you again to our families, businesses, and friends who allow us to leave for one week every year and are always waiting with big hugs when we return!

Anne Frank once wrote, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Since 1991, Kids First has seen a need for pediatric orthopaedic care in South and Central America. For over 24 years now, this organization has not waited a single moment to improve the world, and this year, our twelfth year in San Miguel, was no different. We hope that our small acts will impact the children and families we meet and operate on so that they can live out their lives improving the world as well. Maybe our patients are the next mayors of San Miguel, starting forward on the Mexico National Team, or doctors themselves. What we do hopefully starts a small trickle effect that will allow our patients to some day pursue their goals but for now, just know what it is like to be kids.

Here are a few final stats from this week:

Total patients operated on: 67

Hours spent at the hospital from Sunday-Friday: 73

Team members: 29

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” plays: +100

Number of KF team members who feel victimized by Dr. Andrews music: 28 out of 29

That’s another wrap on another incredible trip. A few of the docs will be headed for a post-op trip in July to San Miguel so look for updates then! Thank you for following us this past week, and for your continued support of our organization! Gracias para todos!
We are so thankful to the parents who let us help their children!

We are so thankful to the parents who let us help their children!
Turn that frown upside down!

Turn that frown upside down!
Dr. Mencio and Dr. Andrews attempt to play nice in the same OR

Dr. Mencio and Dr. Andrews attempt to play nice in the same OR
Brock and Lesters

Brock and Lesters
We love our team anesthesia! Ralph and Buffy

We love team anesthesia! Ralph and Buffy
Bittersweet smiles on the last day! Amy, Heather, Dr. Tobias, Janine, and Jan

Bittersweet smiles on the last day! Amy, Heather, Dr. Tobias, Janine, and Jan
A *rare* glimpse of sunshine

A *rare* glimpse of sunshine
The view from our last night at Dr. Andrews’ house

The view from our last night at Dr. Andrews’ house
Jeff, Kelsey, and Patsy are up, up and away on the hot air balloon ride!

Jeff, Kelsey, and Patsy are up, up and away on the hot air balloon ride!
View from the air of El Hospital General

View from the air of El Hospital General on the hot air balloon ride
the hot air balloon team!

the hot air balloon team!
One last meal at Nirvana

One last meal at Nirvana