In March of 2019, Fidalgo Island Rotary Club member, Dr. Stephen Miller, conducted his eighth annual Opal House — Rotary Medical Mission to the charity hospital in San Lucas Toliman on the shore of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The largely surgical mission is sponsored and partially funded by our Rotary Club which has used a Rotary Foundation Global Grant in the past to purchase an x-ray machine and mini C-arm fluoroscopy machine for the hospital. Click here to read more about the project and the people it helps! 
 
Dr. Miller, pictured here with a patient on his recent medical mission.
 
The 35 self-sponsored team members consisted of doctors, nurses, skilled technicians and support volunteers from all over the US who came together to conduct five days of highly sophisticated orthopedic surgeries, delivering their services and medications for FREE. Besides the local doctors, several pediatric orthopedic and an anesthesia specialists came from Gillette Children’s Specialty Health Care Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Two volunteer documentary videographers also accompanied the team to document the experience. See the video at the bottom of this page for more information. 
 
This largely-charity Guatemalan hospital serves more than 34,000 people locally, mostly Maya, without discrimination of any sort, with only one doctor and a volunteer podiatrist on its staff. The goals of this surgical mission team were to treat primarily (80%) children with lower extremity and other orthopedic deformities and to donate equipment, supplies and medications to the hospital to enable more surgery to be done locally, as well as for follow-up care.
 
 
 
 
The team evaluated over 90 patients, including several follow-ups from previous years, and performed 104 orthopedic procedures on 50 patients (28 orthopedic; 22 foot/ankle), on 40 children and 10 adults. Included were 13 neglected clubfoot repairs, as well as a host of other orthopedic deformities and conditions. Many lives were changed, resulting in a future of hope. Dr. Miller has conducted over 40 medical missions, mostly as Team Leader.
 
Thank you for all you do, Dr. Miller! If you're interested in donating to future medical missions or other international service projects, please contact Fidalgo Island Rotary at fir.theFUNclub@gmail.com.