Practicing Medicine in the Third World 1967-2010

The experiences gained, the people encountered, and the camaraderie enjoyed by the operating teams were priceless, but the real thrill and feeling of accomplishment came from the patient interactions. The mother who traveled three days by boat on the Amazon to have her child's clubfoot corrected, who smiles shyly or cries when she sees the results. The gratitude of the young woman whose unsightly tumor has been removed from her knee, or the young child who is able to walk again because her severely contracted and flexed knee has been straightened, or the many men and women who are able to ambulate again without pain because their arthritic joints have been replaced. Their lives have been changed, and they are supremely grateful. These are the memories that will last a lifetime.