09/21/2024
Congratulations and thank you to Dr. Rick Hodes for being named the 2024 Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award winner by the Scoliosis Research Society!
To learn more about Dr. Hodes, and his mission, you can watch the documentary, "Making the Crooked Straight" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326241/
Or read "This Is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes" by Marilyn Berger https://www.amazon.com/This-Soul-Mission-Rick-Hodes/dp/0061759546
If you would like to help Dr. Hodes in his mission, please visit: https://rickhodes.org/dr-ted-mission
From Rick Hodes:
"We are thrilled to share the success of our recent surgical campaign in Ethiopia.
Dr. Ted Belanger (Dallas), Dr. Serena Hu (Stanford), Dr. Bill Stevens (Phoenix), Dr. Rimantas Zagorskis (Vilnius), Dr. Giedrius Bernotavicius (Lithuania), Dr. Mark Weech (Bahamas), along with numerous spine fellows, assistants and neuromonitors worked tirelessly for 3 weeks at MCM Korean Hospital of Addis Ababa in May and June.
It took weeks of work with the Ministry of Health to get permits for incoming supplies, and the group arrived with over 1,200 pounds of surgical screws, rods, scrub suits, and bandages. They shipped a high-tech Jackson Table for donation, the preferred table for complex sine surgery, which arrived from the US just before the team did. This was a huge help, and a first for the team, which has been coming to work with us since 2010. Every year the team and the scope of surgery expands.
In early March, Dr. Rick secluded himself for a week as he poured through his medical records and sent Dr. Ted over 150 emails (each with at least 20 photos, x-rays, and CT scans attached) of proposed patients. Dr. Ted meticulously analyzed this, and selected 70 potential patients. The JDC team did new photos, x-rays, scans, and blood tests. On Day 1, Dr. Ted saw the patients and finalized the surgical list.
As usual, our friends at the Korean Hospital were as cooperative as possible, and gave us 2 rooms to operate in simultaneously. The team performed 50 spine surgeries, and over 40 Ethiopian health professionals took part in this as well. In fact, Ethiopian surgeons flew in from distant corners of the country to operate with the international team. Some witnessed removal of several vertebrae (VCR) for the first time
May we ask for your support? We now have a hospital bill of $55,000, along with significant additional patient care and team expenses.
Please consider helping us to cover these expenses?
https://rickhodes.org/dr-ted-mission
"
