by Khoi Nguyen My trip really started with surprise and anxiousness. I didn’t know what to think of Dr. Geelhoed, better known as Dr. G, when I first saw him. He simply had a personality that teemed with energy, excitement, and curiosity that did not match his age. I was not quite sure what Dr.…
by Daniel Baird To begin with, the opportunity to participate in something “Larger than myself” has always inspired and driven me. M2H embodies that “Larger than Self” altruism. Being able to provide surgical care to people who are in desperate need is the most fulfilling experience of my professional career. The patients that we…
by David Jennette Having spent almost 30 years as a surgical assistant, there was little I thought I haven’t seen in an operating room. That thought, and my own impression of mankind changed in February 2017. Training as an assistant in the Tidewater, VA area where Operation Smile was founded, I had always wanted to become…
by Devin Geelhoed Okay, here we go. This trip to Ecuador has been extremely fun, rewarding, and eye-opening for me. I was able to do and see so many new things and got to meet many new people. At the beginning, after staying the night in Guayaquil, we went up into the Andes mountains,…
by Colby Bienkowski Oh my, how to begin? Maybe I should start at the beginning. I met Dr. Glenn at the airport on the day of our departure. Before that, I had just been told about Dr. Glenn through my grandparents that know him. After learning about what he did and the organization he…
Human-Focused Surgical Care by Carla Wittenberg I’ve yearned to travel on a surgical mission for years. After training and working in large academic centers and level 1 trauma centers my entire career, I have been curious to see truly how simple the process could be of providing surgical care without the concerns of paper trails,…
We love to hear feedback and encouragement from partners in the field. One such comment came to us from Dr. Jim Sanchez, who works with the “Hospital On Wheels” in the Philippines. Their work is very similar to that of Mission to Heal and we are grateful for their partnership and encouragement! Hi Glenn, …
Ryan, an American medical student, was working with Cinterandes when Mission to Heal visited Shaime, Ecuador in July 2017. As a result, he was able to work alongside the Mission to Heal team members and learn under Dr. Glenn Geelhoed while they were operating in that area. Ryan is pursuing a career in professional medicine and hopes to…
I Don’t Get Out Much by Eric Beane Let me first preface by saying that I don’t get out much. What I mean is that I never travel out of the U.S. The only time I crossed the border was when I took a cliché college trip to Tijuana, Mexico over 20 years ago…
On many recent missions, our team has been able to take along handcrafted dresses, britches, and dolls for the children who visit our clinic. These fine items are sewed with love by residents in The Villages, a retired adult living community in Florida, USA. In a July 2017 mission to Shaime, Ecuador, Dr. Geelhoed records in his journals…