Back in November of 2015 eCoronado.com featured an article entitled Coronado Residents Volunteer in Mexico – Team Completes 350 Surgeries in a Single Trip. The article included a heartfelt interview with Dr. Harry O’Halloran, a Coronado resident who donates his services as a pediatric ophthalmologist with a non-profit organization called MOST (Mercy Outreach Surgical Team). MOST is a Scripps Health Foundation program funded completely by philanthropy. Doctors, nurses, operating room technicians, pharmacists, and other volunteers pay their own expenses and use their personal vacation days to travel to impoverished regions of Mexico for week-long mission trips, where they spend twelve hour work days volunteering their professional skills.
The last time I interviewed Dr. Harry, as he’s known, he told me all about the pro-bono work he did in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico in October, and this time he sat down with me again to share the amazing feat he and his team completed in Irapuato, Mexico this past April.
The last time MOST traveled to Irapuato was three years ago. Dr. Harry, the Chief Medical Officer of MOST, was one of the doctors present on the last mission trip to Irapuato, and he assumed there wouldn’t be many patients on this most recent trip because MOST had already helped the people in that region just a short time ago. He and the rest of the MOST volunteers, including Coronado anesthesiologists Dr. Kent Diveley (President of MOST) and Dr. Robert Adams as well as Coronado nurse Ellen Shackford were definitely surprised because patients just kept coming and coming, traveling hundreds of miles in search of medical care and surgeries.
Dr. Harry, and his team of anesthesiologists and nurses performed 180 strabismus surgeries in just three days, fixing patients’ crossed eyes, changing the quality of their lives forever. Usually Dr. Harry works with pediatric patients, but this time people of all ages showed up, and Dr. Harry couldn’t possibly refuse the opportunity to help those in need.
On Tuesday, April 12th Dr. Harry and his team performed 62 surgeries. Then the next day they performed 50 surgeries. On the third and final day of the MOST visit to Irapuato, Dr. Harry and his team set a new record, performing 68 surgeries within a ten hour period! Dr. Harry wasn’t certain of the exact number of the previous record for the most surgeries performed by a medical team in one day, but he speculated saying, “I can tell you nobody has come close to that many. Probably the next highest one would be maybe 40 in a day. Even on a full day for me here at Rady Children’s Hospital, if I was in the operating room from 7:30 to 6:00, I’d be lucky if I got 25 cases done.”
Were Dr. Harry and his team trying to set a new record on this mission trip to Irapuato? “No. That was the day I was meant to leave, but people just kept showing up, and they looked so bad that we thought, ‘We can’t not fix them.’ We started off that day with 50 on our schedule, and they just kept walking in. People just got more efficient as the list kept getting longer. Everybody stepped up. On Tuesday and Wednesday we probably operated from 7:00 in the morning to about 8:00 at night non-stop.” Other than restroom breaks and ten minutes for lunch, Dr. Harry and his team performed surgery after surgery, all of which required general anesthesia. Dr. Harry continued, “On Thursday we operated from quarter to seven until I walked out the door at 5:00. In ten hours, we did 68 cases.”
How did Dr. Harry feel after his MOST surgical feat? “I was exhausted. It’s the most tired I’ve ever been from working, but it was really amazing. I’ll tell you what the best part was. Everyone was tired, and patients kept showing up, but everyone said, ‘We’ve got to keep going! We have to just keep operating.’ I was the first one to leave that day because I had to get to the airport. It just so happened that I did run out of patients, but at one point I kept thinking, ‘I’m not going to get out of here. I’m going to have to cancel my flight, and just keep working if they keep showing up.’ There were no complaints. Everyone was working hard, and it was amazing to see people who were working hard and efficiently all of a sudden step it up another notch. It was probably the best example of teamwork that I’ve ever seen.”
Dr. Robert Adams shared his thoughts about MOST’s recent mission to Mexico. “All MOST trips are rewarding and fun, even with the long days of work. The majority of surgical procedures are life-changing, and everyone on the team is blessed to know that we have made a difference. What touches me the most is how grateful and courteous the families are. The endeavor is not limited to the week of surgery because an enormous amount of work is required in the months before and after each trip. Special recognition and appreciation is owed to the Rotary International chapters of each town we visit. Their support makes the week possible and among the many things they do, they provide room and board for every patient and family as long as needed during the surgical week.”
Ellen Shackford shared her thoughts about the April mission trip to Irapuato as well. “This most recent medical trip to Mexico was an impressive feat of organization and commitment. With the skill of our leadership team, the hard work of our partners on the ground in Irapuato and the inexhaustible efforts of our medical team, we were able to care for over 400 patients! I feel tremendously blessed to be a part of such a talented and devoted team of medical providers. Everyone on the team, all the way from the admissions coordinators and translators to the doctors and nurses in the operating room are professionals with such skill and compassion; they inspire me to do the best that I can. The rewards are enormous! To see the smiles of the children and their families, knowing that we have made their lives a little easier makes every effort so worthwhile. An added benefit is to interact with members in the community and to gain a better understanding of the rich culture of our southern neighbors and, of course enjoy their delicious cuisine!”
While Dr. Harry’s team performed strabismus surgeries, other MOST surgical teams performed over 200 cleft lip, cleft palate, and general surgeries, including hernias and undescended testicles. Dr. Harry estimated that there were about 40 MOST volunteers on this mission trip to Irapuato, including doctors, nurses, support staff, and translators.
MOST’s annual fundraiser, the Mariachi Festival, was held this past Saturday, May 21, 2016 at the Jacobs Center. “Everything we [MOST] do, we do in Mexico, so it’s a Mexican theme,” Dr. Harry said of the annual event. This year’s Mariachi Festival was sold out in advance, which was outstanding because proceeds will fund future MOST mission trips to Mexico, including the trip to Tecate, Mexico next month on June 10th and 11th.
Does Dr. Harry anticipate this June trip to Tecate will be like the trip to Irapuato? “We usually go to Mainland Mexico, but we’re trying to do some trips in northern Baja to serve our most immediate neighbors, people who live so close to the border who can’t come over here for healthcare for whatever reason: they can’t afford it or they don’t have visas. They’re sitting over there just on the other side of the border, and they don’t have access to healthcare. We expect that we’re going to be super busy.” This next trip will be just two days, but there are already at least 60 cases scheduled. Dr. Harry anticipates that he and his team will be even busier in Tecate than they were in Irapuato! “More and more the word is out, which is great because we have a great reputation.”
Because MOST is funded completely by philanthropy, donations are essential to keep this program going. It’s a 501(c)(3) charity, which is eligible for a tax deduction. As stated on MOST’s website, “An online donation is the easiest and most immediate way to help MOST continue its mission. All gifts, no matter the size, can have a direct impact on those in greatest need.”
- $100 provides a pair of eyeglasses
- $350 provides surgery for one child
- $500 sponsors one team member
- $15,000 covers team travel
- $25,000 provides supplies for one mission
- $100,000 sponsors the team for a week-long mission
Dr. Harry wanted to be sure to thank a certain family, who he will only say have the last name of Robbins. Dr. Harry said, “A lot of the expansion of the eye program has been funded by the Robbins family, who’ve given generously to MOST for the last five years, and have just donated again. Their support for the ophthalmology portion of the MOST program has really allowed us to do a lot more work. They never ask for any recognition; they never ask for anything. As a matter of fact, they’ve said, ‘We’ll give you money, but we don’t want any thank yous or awards. If you do, we’re going to stop giving you money.”
While not everyone is in the financial position to donate as much as the Robbins family, all donations made to MOST add up, making it possible for medical professionals like Dr. Harry, Dr. Diveley, Dr. Adams, and Nurse Shackford to continue helping our vecinos in Mexico. Because all volunteers pay for their own transportation to Mexico, every dollar donated to MOST goes directly to providing healthcare to people who otherwise could not afford it. In the words of the English writer John Bunyan, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
