Igniting the Spirit of Service and Transforming Lives w/ One World Surgery

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Kiera Helms: All right. Welcome back to the DocBuddy Journal.

Kiera Helms: I’m your host, Kiera Helms, and in today’s episode, we’re exploring a nonprofit whose mission is to ignite the spirit of service and transform the lives by expanding access to high quality surgical and primary care around the world. That is the heart of one world surgery. Joining me are Dr. Peter Daley, an orthopedic surgeon and his wife, Lulu Daley, a pediatric nurse. Together, they’ve built something truly remarkable. What started as a single act of service has grown into a global effort that now serves more than 27,000 patients each year and engages over 1500 volunteers annually.

Kiera Helms: This spreads across Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Peter and Lulu, thank you so much for being here today. Lulu, I’d love to begin with you and hear how this all began.

The Dalys: Thank you for having us. We’re excited to be here. So our journey started really when we met in college. We always wanted to do global health, and Peter was in, um, pre-med, I was in nursing school. And [00:01:00] um, then life happened. We got married, we had kids right away. And, um, that was, we weren’t able to really do that.

The Dalys: But in 1993, we were exposed to a children’s home in Mexico that, um, we went to visit and we loved it. And so I was just more involved with the fundraising part of that. But, um, one Christmas Eve I had called, um, the priest that was the head of the home in, um, Mexico and all the other homes. And I asked him what he needed for, uh, Christmas and he said, oh, I need this, this, this.

The Dalys: And then he said, well, I, the home in Honduras needs a special needs home for the special needs boys so they can be together and grow in a healthy way. And so I was very interested in that because, um, Peter’s father was an orthopedic surgeon and. At the age of 46, he was in a head-on collision. [00:02:00] And when that happened, he had a really a mentality of a 7-year-old.

The Dalys: And he lived like that for 28 years. And so if he wasn’t living with us, he would, um, there was a group home that was like a respite care for us and it was so beautiful and we needed that, um, in our family. So I said, what a great, um, mission to do. So. We said yes, we would like to help with that. And then, you know, about six months later we were in Nicaragua and um, at a board meeting and, uh, Renar Kohler, who was the head of the Honduras home, said, aren’t you the dailies?

The Dalys: Won’t you, don’t you wanna come and see what you helped build? And I said. Well, the only reason, the only way we’ll come is if I could bring my four young children and Peter and I can work. So we, I don’t think he really believed that we would do it. But three weeks later, I had our tickets. We were [00:03:00] going, took the kids outta school, we were going to, um, Honduras.

The Dalys: I didn’t even know where Honduras was, but we were going. And so. And when we were there, they were opening up the special needs home when there were eight beautiful, beautiful boys. And um, they asked us to name it and I’m like, no, no, no, I don’t wanna name it. Have the boys name it. So they had the ribbon cutting and they cut the ribbon and they said.

The Dalys: Uh, this is Casa Emmanuel, and we looked at each other because that was Peter’s dad’s name and nobody knew us. Nobody knew who we were. And so we knew we were standing on holy ground. We knew this was it. And so we just embraced our two weeks experience there where my kids were at the school on the farm working.

The Dalys: You know, we’re having fun really on the ranch with the 500 kids. And Peter and I were working in the clinic and when we were there, we were [00:04:00] introduced to a little girl named Angela, and she was nine years old and she had, um, what’s the name of this? Yes, A condition called Chondro Electrodermal Dysplasia, which caused the deformity of all her growth plates on different bones, but.

The Dalys: Her worst, um, portion affected were her knees. And so her knees were at such a 90 degree angle the wrong way that her legs had to scissor. And she really had gotten to the point, uh, of a few years of looking for some solution that she wasn’t able to really, she used a wheelchair much of the time. So Peter was operating, you know, doing like lumps and bumps in the back of a, um, a semi truck trailer.

The Dalys: Yeah. Yeah. And so, um, and that was really, it was, it was a beautiful effort of an ambulatory surgery center actually, because it’s so ambulatory. There were wheels on it. It was a semi-truck trailer. [00:05:00] And, uh, so it was. We, we knew that we couldn’t do the surgery in that, that small little mobile operating theater.

The Dalys: Um, and the surgery she needed was extensive. And so she came to, so I said, well, let’s come to Minnesota. Why don’t we bring her to Minnesota? Because they really hadn’t been able to access any inpatient facility in, in Honduras to get it cared for. So she came to Minnesota and lived with us for a year and had multiple surgeries and stages on both lower extremities, and by that time.

The Dalys: You know, she was just part of her life. She, she lived with us, so she, when, when she first came, Peter told me it would be six weeks, and I thought, okay, I could do anything for six weeks, but it ended up much longer. But what happened was when I. He had to break her legs in three places and then put those external fixators on, [00:06:00] and then that’s called, that’s called an osteotomy.

The Dalys: Okay. And then, and then, um, he had to put all these pins in, and so there were 36 pins, 18 on each, each, um, leg. The only thing that, um, made me nauseated in. In, uh, nursing school with pens. And he forgot to tell me that that’s what was happening. So when he, after she came outta surgery, I had to sit down ’cause they pulled it back and there were all these pens.

The Dalys: So then I said, now what I do? And he hands me a piece of paper and he goes, well, here’s a printout. You have to turn the pens. Every, um, every six hours. Every six hours. So I’d have to turn two, you know, five and 18, and you turn ’em just a little bit every six hours and then her legs would become straight.

The Dalys: And it was so, so the correction happened gradually so that the nerves and blood vessels and other soft tissues could correct gradually and not happen so abruptly, and they could adapt to it. But I [00:07:00] have to give it to Lulu because. You know, every six hours around the clock. 24 hours a day. For four months.

The Dalys: For four months. I mean, she really did. And then I kind of went about my, my regular job as always, and she was working. So, so, but anyway, she. So she really became part of our family and she lived with us for a year. She went to school. She made her first holy communion. She did everything that our family did.

The Dalys: She called herself Angela Daley, but then it was time to take her back because the children on the home aren’t adoptable. They’re raised as a family, and she had a brother and sister there. So life changed. It was really. Terribly hard on our family to bring her back, but we integrate. We integrated her on the ranch for a couple weeks just so she’d get used to being back home.

The Dalys: And then she said something that changed her life, so we were saying goodbye. She came out and she, [00:08:00] she went to school and then she came out of the classroom and she started sobbing and she said, mommy, stay with me. She didn’t say, take me back home to Minnesota. I wanna go back with you. She said, stay. And I turned to him and I’m like, do something.

The Dalys: Do something. And the concept that we didn’t have this big vision, we’re not these visionaries or whatever, you know, we had nothing like that. It was just do something like build a small room. So we can come back every year and be a part of her life. And that truly was the beginning of how it all started.

The Dalys: Yeah. So. You know, what’s, what’s unique, and I guess what I would love the listeners to understand about this is that our healthcare, our surgical facility in Honduras, and now the DR is an ambulatory surgery center solution to a gap in, in surgical access, um, globally. Okay. And [00:09:00] most of the time we think of, um.

The Dalys: You know, uh, interventions for people that don’t have the resources to access surgical help as being needed to be done in a, in a traditional hospital. And there’s been so many advances in the United States and other high income countries that have, um, migrated things that were traditionally done in an inpatient traditional hospital setting to an outpatient setting because of advances in anesthesia care.

The Dalys: Minimally invasive surgical approaches, um, different medications that have been developed. And um, and, and I had experienced that in my own practice, uh, my orthopedic surgery practice in the Minneapolis St. Paul area over throughout the nineties. And so I was the medical director of two surgery centers at the time.

The Dalys: We were beginning this 20 years ago in Honduras. And I’m like, gosh. We could apply an ambulatory [00:10:00] surgery center model right on the children’s home and, and that would be. A win-win on multiple levels. It would allow us to be part of Angela’s life ’cause we’ll be frequenting the development and building of this.

The Dalys: And it would allow us to find a solution for what Angela couldn’t connect. And the third, uh, thing that I think was what we were looking for as a family was. That I had, that we had volunteered in orthopedics overseas, which is a wonderful organization. There are some opportunities for family involvement with that, but I hadn’t found the exact locations that it worked out well for our family.

The Dalys: And so we needed something where our family could serve together. And um, and this is how it came to be, really was out of necessity of wanting to do this, uh, together in a safe way. And, uh, being on this, on this children’s home and having that facility there, uh, that we were building [00:11:00] out, uh, was perfect.

The Dalys: Um, so that build out kind of happened from 2004 to 2008, and then we, um, started doing surgery there, you know, uh, three to four times a year at one week sessions. Uh, and that built up to maybe six to eight trips a year. And, uh, there was a, an north, there was a medical student who had grown up on the orphanage.

The Dalys: His name is, uh, Merlin Antoinette, Dr. Merlin, an now Dr. Merlin. Antoinette. And, um. You know, he was a primary care physician. And when, when I would, uh, when we would come and go with these different trips and we’d need orthopedic follow up and other general surgical procedures that were being done, uh, to be cared for, he provided the follow up and, uh, we kept encouraging him.

The Dalys: Uh, well I was sort of marinating his mind in these orthopedic [00:12:00] principles and I, uh, said, you know, why don’t you go back and do a residency in orthopedics there in Honduras, there’s a residency training program there. And he did. And so he became the, um, medical director has become the medical director of our.

The Dalys: Home, which, uh, he started with us in 2014. So in the be in the beginning of all this, we, it was just our friends and family that would come, we’d ask anybody. I. And to come with us and run these brigades. And so when we would go, um, we would go two weeks at a time in January and in June. And, and then people would, um, our friends would come one week at a time.

The Dalys: So we were doing our first surgery. Um, you know, we did two and then we’d do one week, and then we were adding a little bit here and there, and then it was starting. To really grow. And it was getting a little, I say a little bit over our heads, [00:13:00] so we decided that well, and we, and we were, I mean we had a, a number of partners by that time.

The Dalys: Different, right. Different groups. Uh, Dr. West and Mountain House, right? I mean, but you know, we were just do literally doing this in our kitchen and all the supplies and everything was in our garage, so we were doing it. But, um, it was getting, it was getting big and over our heads. And, and so we, uh, Peter and I went on this eight day silent retreat, and out of that retreat came like, okay, let’s go forward.

The Dalys: But now what? You know, we gotta pray that someone comes in our lives. And, and lo and behold, two months later, SCA came in and it was a game changer because when they came in, they gave us all the um. The help we needed to really make this grow well. And SCA stands for Surgical Care Affiliates. It’s an an ambulatory surgery center part ownership [00:14:00] and management company that, uh, then advocated to their 250 ambulatory surgery centers that they managed at the time to, to join in this mission and volunteer with us and help support, and, um.

The Dalys: Help get other health professionals to do that. And so that was in the end of 2014. Um, and then it just was like we were on steroids from there on out and, uh, breaking home run records and yeah. But just, you know, just increasing the amount of people and missions and supplies and all the different challenges that go into this, um, to, to make it sustainable.

The Dalys: Uh, and, and just broadening the, the support both in personnel and, uh, energy for, uh, love of the mission. Uh, so anyway, long-winded answer.

Kiera Helms: Wow, that was [00:15:00] incredible. What an incredible story and an origin, and it just, it truly speaks to how much you guys care about this and the foundation that was built on. That’s amazing. Um, how do you think that one world surgery fits into the larger conversation about global health, especially when it comes to surgical access in the these underserved areas?

The Dalys: Well, I would say, um, I. You know, there are, that’s a good point because there are a number of global health efforts you think of, uh, doctors Without Borders and, and those, that mission in particular goes to conflict heightened or acute conflict areas that you really can’t bring a family too. Um, and it’s, there’s a lot of, uh, security and safety risks.

The Dalys: Um, and so. There, there are other organizations that have outreach in primary [00:16:00] care missions or, uh, setting, you know, I’ve heard Global Medical Brigades is another one that, uh, encourages college students to go and volunteer and do outreach into local villages and things. Um, but a surgical mission is rare.

The Dalys: And when I say rare because, um. A lot of public health focuses on historically on infectious diseases for excellent reasons. I mean tuberculosis, HIV, malaria. Those are very, uh, hurtful and deadly conditions. But, um, surgical medical missions haven’t really been emphasized in a public health standpoint. Um, Paul Farmer and.

The Dalys: Um, and Dr. Kim have called this the neglected surgery as the neglected stepchild of public health. Um, partly because of the focus [00:17:00] on infectious concerns, but partly because of the misconception that it wouldn’t be cost-effective to, to provide things that require a sterilizer and sterile conditions and operating rooms, and a backup generator and all of the equipment intensive activities that are required and resources.

The Dalys: Uh, but there’s been several studies, including one of ours that was published in, we published in 2017 that shows that it is cost effective. It’s as cost effective as addressing cardiology care and, um, and some of the other non-surgical interventions. Uh, but you need to, you need to have a stable base and, and, uh, uh, continue to go at a same site.

The Dalys: Uh, uh, location so that you’re not kind of falling into the medical tourism of not being able to sustain long-term results. And so in answer to your question about, well, where do we [00:18:00] fit in the, the scale of, of public health or global health, um, we fit in the spectrum by having a permanent facility in Honduras, and we now have a second one in the Dominican Republic.

The Dalys: We also, uh, fit in to, um, only, only serving those that cannot pay. And that’s been a key to our success. I think there’s, there’s a plethora of people who, who can’t afford the surgical, uh, concerns that they have, uh, and how to fix it. Um, and that’s our only, only substrate of patients that we serve. And therefore we don’t get sideways with the local medical communities in which we live that are making their living on other more traditional ways.

The Dalys: And we can, we can take care of that population that is falling through the cracks. You know, Lula’s father always used to say, well, why do you have to leave Chicago? Why can’t you just go [00:19:00] to serve in the in Chicago or stay in the United States? And she said, well, dad. They have, the US has all kinds of safety nets for people that don’t have access to things.

The Dalys: You can show up in any emergency room at any time, and by federal law, have to receive treatment regardless of ability to pay. Whereas in these other countries, they don’t have the safety nets. They just don’t get the care, and they perpetuate their disability, which perpetuates their. Their, their poverty from a economic driver standpoint and being able to make a living for their family, and then the whole family can kind of fall apart.

The Dalys: I. So that’s the niche we’re we’re serving. Um, the other niche we’re serving is having a place where you can serve with your family and you can serve in a facility and a in a location that has its roots deeply in that country that’s not going anywhere. So we can. We know that [00:20:00] when we serve in, in one of our one world surgery sites, that the patients there will have continuous sustainable care.

The Dalys: We have an in-country hondu, an orthopedic surgeon, that’s Dr. Merlin that I referenced. He’s our medical director there. We have, uh, 80 full-time staff that are hondu and that work there, that are there day in and day out, uh, whether they have a visiting team or not from outside the country. Uh, and they’re providing beautiful care.

The Dalys: So. Um, so family involvement, permanent facility, and, and the other thing I think that’s a key to our success is it’s a facility that we built so we’re not beholden to a public health facility in that country. Not that it’s. You know, horrible or anything, but they lack some resources. Uh, and um, they depend on government funding.

The Dalys: Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, only behind Haiti, so they just [00:21:00] don’t have the government funding for all the things that are needed from. The healthcare of their, their villages and communities. So it’s a ripe place to, uh, participate. You know, we’re not that smart. We didn’t know.

The Dalys: We just kept saying yes all along the way, really, because, um. Because when we were building it, we really wanted to do something with our family. I didn’t want him going off, you know, to a different country without us. We tried it once with our kids and it just didn’t work and I had to leave early and there was no way I was gonna let, he’s gone all, he was gone all the time anyway, so there was nowhere I was gonna.

The Dalys: Um, let ’em go again without us. So basically we found something that really made a difference in our family. Our kids grew up there, loved it. Their lives had been changed forever from going there. And, um, it was, it was just a great, uh, a great experience [00:22:00] when they were young. And so we wanted to share it.

The Dalys: With our, um, with our family and friends, like a lot of my, um, brothers and sisters came with their kids and a, you know, our best friends would come with their kids. And it really grew into more of a family, um, experience. Experience, which we loved And. You know, the best a advice we had ever gotten was from a doctor that said to me, do one thing and do it really well.

The Dalys: And I remember that instead of going here and there and, you know, all over the world, you know, one week at a time, and, and really we were growing it just keep saying yes and doing what was um, in front of us, the next right thing. And so that’s how it really grew to where it is today.

Kiera Helms: Wow, what an amazing story. And all of those principles that really have founded One World surgery are so clear in the way that you talk about it. Um, what, what factors do you [00:23:00] think are essential when building an. Sen when, when building an ethical and sustainable program like this.

The Dalys: Well, um, first, just what you said, it needs to be ethical. You need to respect the culture in which you’re working. Um, and you know, you can’t just show up and say, well, I’ve got this hammer and everything else is a nail. You have to find out what solutions they need. We did a study, a research study when we decided to go to the Dominican for a second site after being invited to, to help there as well.

The Dalys: And um, we did, we hired some. College students that had started a, a separate nonprofit to, um, canvas the, the villages in the, in the communities around the area of what surgical conditions they needed the most help with. And, and we, we [00:24:00] published that paper as well, but it had to do with ophthalmology, general surgery and orthopedic surgical conditions.

The Dalys: And so those are right up our alley. Um, and things that we could provide care for in an ambulatory surgery center facility setting. And then also we realized that we had to, we really had to apply more primary care, uh, access as well to compliment the surgery. So it’s really, I like to say it’s like an Oreo cookie.

The Dalys: You’ve got primary care on one side of the Oreo, uh, surgery on the other, and the filling in the middle is the patient. And so that’s always the good part. Yeah. And I love Oreos, so I think that, uh, we needed to really address. The whole patient. And that’s, that’s evolved beautifully with some of our partnerships, uh, particularly with, with SDA and Optum, um, Humana and some other, some other partnerships that we’re also looking for ways to, [00:25:00] uh, find meaning in volunteering.

The Dalys: Um, one, I, I guess I wanna mention one thing about short-term medical mission volunteering that’s had some criticisms, appropriate criticisms about whether it’s sustainable and done ethically. Um, and, uh, we’ve, we’ve taken a lot of those considerations in as we’ve designed and evolved and matured in our, in our nonprofit. But, um, so many people have personal obligations of making money to pay for their house payments and sending their kids to school and all kinds of things. And so we just all can’t be Albert Schweitzer, uh, and go do this full time. But yet a lot of people have the desire to volunteer and they have medical training, or they just wanna work in a, in a nonprofit that is, uh, perhaps healthcare related.

The Dalys: Um, and this, and this allows for that when you’re doing short term medical [00:26:00] missions. Uh, but you have to really design it where you provide the appropriate safety and security measures. Um, you maintain best practice standards that are going to honor. Giving the best to the patients we’re serving there and not cutting corners on, on healthcare.

The Dalys: It has to be something sustainable with consistent follow up of patient care, and you’re not just dropping in and dropping out. And that’s so key with having the local, um, health community working with us and, and as part of the, part of the program. And I guess the other thing I would say is that in the design is that we, we have three pillars that we want to include in one world surgery.

The Dalys: One is, uh, best practice healthcare facility, which is the surgery center and the primary care clinic. Number two is, uh, direct patient care in providing it the best practice standards. And number [00:27:00] three is to emphasize education. So we, we do have a, an orthopedic surgical fellowship year long fellowship program.

The Dalys: We have an ophthalmology year long fellowship program, both in Honduras. We have different scholarships and training programs for nursing students, uh, medical students in country, um, uh, surgical tech training for surgical tech. Our, our little loved one, Angela, who lived with us, she. It took, uh, advantage of that scholarship program and is now a surgical tech, uh, and does sterile processing as well in our Honduras facility.

The Dalys: So, you know, all of these things you have to layer in and, and it does take some gradual maturation and not everybody has to start a a de novo program. Um, so they can join us. Yeah, you can play in our sandbox. We would love that. And, uh, it’s. But [00:28:00] at, at least these are some of the, the things that you would want to look for in, uh, evaluating the program that you wanna participate in.

The Dalys: Does it have. Some of these ethical standards and, and sustainability principles. One, one thing we don’t wanna ever do is deviate from our true mission. And that’s really important to us. You know, we serve the poorest of the poor that can’t get any help. And um, and I always say the poor deserve the best and they get the best of the best care.

The Dalys: So I love that because. You know when someone like in Honduras gets in a car accident, then then they can’t work. And then if they can’t work, they can’t provide for their family. If they can’t provide for their family, the family ends up in the streets and just by. Taking care of the neglected surgical care that, you know, you can get them back at work.

The Dalys: And so you save a family and you save the community and [00:29:00] you can change the country like that. And so it’s been really important that, that they get that kind of care. So, um, then when we were asked to go to. To the Dominican, I was like, oh, no, how are we gonna do this again? But, um, when we went there, you know, a lot of people go to the Dominican Republic and they go to the beaches and they think it’s so beautiful, but they’re, they have no idea.

The Dalys: The out pockets in the bats that are the sugar cane. Um, people from that, from Haiti that need our help and they, you know, they don’t have any, um, if you’re born there, you don’t. Um, if you’re Haitian descent and you’re born there, you know, you don’t have the country. They’re not Dominican. So they’re the poorest of the poor.

The Dalys: And to go in there and to be able to help them is just a gift to them. And it’s a gift to us to be able to serve them because it, it’s [00:30:00] so beautiful that that transaction that comes between the patient and, and the volunteer, because you can’t learn that in books or movies. It’s just something that you have to experience yourself and.

The Dalys: That’s when you know it’s, that’s it. You know, it’s the work of God because you, we could have never thought this big and because we’ve had so many people that are looking for what we were looking for. That’s the funny thing, you know, they’re like, we’ve always been looking for that. Well, we had been looking for that since we were 20.

The Dalys: And to be able to, um, to share it with everybody has been unbelievable. And, um, I mean mm-hmm. It wasn’t just us. It took a huge, many, many, many, many people and continues to, to grow. And it’s, people are looking for that. They’re looking for that connection with other volunteers. They’re looking for a purpose in their life.

The Dalys: They’re [00:31:00] looking for something outside of themselves, and we have the program. One World Surgery has that program that. That, like I said, we didn’t know, you know, we were building it, but, but it was, and, and it’s beautiful. We have thousands and thousands of volunteers that, that are like, oh my gosh, this is, this is great.

The Dalys: We wanna be a part of it. So we welcome everyone to be a part of it because it truly is. It is wonderful.

Kiera Helms: Yeah, absolutely. That makes total sense. Um. It’s speaking of the volunteers and you know, the providers who are volunteering. I know for them you, like you said, it’s not just about giving back, it’s about talking about the impact that they have and, you know, making an impact on the people that they’re serving.

Kiera Helms: Um, many healthcare providers are talking about burnout or feeling disconnected from the reasons why they went into medicine. How do you think mission trips like these help them feel reconnected to that? Why?

The Dalys: Well, [00:32:00] I think that’s just what Lulu was saying, that she didn’t, we didn’t realize how pervasive that feeling is that you described where you just get caught up in the, the day-to-day machinations of one of the biggest industries in our economy of the United States at least. It’s really a big business. Which not that business is, um, immoral or something, but it’s just that, you know, there’s, there’s things that you have to accomplish that are obligations and you lose sight of why you went into medicine. And, um, and this is, uh, an experience of, of medicine in its purest, um, whereby there’s no. You know, you just, it’s, there’s no hesitation of, um, what any motivations are or what might be best.

The Dalys: I guess one of the, um, [00:33:00] one of the calculations you have to make as a clinician is just we, you knowing what, um. Knowing what they need and actually being able to give them what they need in an austere setting so that you don’t create a bigger problem with, with the proposed solution. That’s part of the nuance and the expertise that comes as part of global health and, and raising that awareness for, for people.

The Dalys: But there’s a poverty of spirit. Of the healthcare providers, and that’s what they’re describing when they say, oh, I really wanna go do something. And there’s a economic poverty of resources and other things that occur in some of these other low to middle income countries. And so combining, you know, the riches from one country and the riches of, of.

The Dalys: Survival and scrappiness and, and dedication to purpose for their families that we see in these other [00:34:00] countries. We exchange the riches for the different poverty on each side, and it’s just, it’s a win-win. Um, it’s the reason why people say, I got more out of this than I gave.

Kiera Helms: Absolutely. What kind of feedback have you heard from volunteers after returning home? What you know sticks with them the most?

The Dalys: Well, I think it’s just the perspective and they say, oh my gosh, I can’t believe. What we could do in, you know, where we didn’t know many of these people that were volunteering together. And all of a sudden, by the end of the week, you’re just all best friends and, and you, uh, you see these great relationships that have occurred.

The Dalys: But I think it’s the perspective, as Lulu said, you can’t, you can’t read about these things in, in a book. I mean, you can and you can see a movie that’s inspiring, but an experience does something with you personally. And, uh, so. Gaining that experience changes [00:35:00] how you look at your local environment. When you get back home, you know, you think about how great it is to have clean water come right out of the tap that you can drink and not cause dysentery or something. Uh, and not that that happens everywhere in Honduras, but we’re, we’re visitors there, so we’re not, we’re not used to their set of, um. Set of circumstances, but you just get a big perspective on, on, on, on the global effect of what life is like and um, and that’s, that’s helpful in being more tolerant of people around us and be more respectful.

The Dalys: Um, those are all manifestations that we see came, come out in our relationships in the way our kids’ lives developed to be exposed to that as they were growing up. That’s again, a big part of something you wanna share with your kids, you know, uh, a lot of times. [00:36:00] You know, we’ve had thousands of volunteers and there’s a lot of times that I’ll be like, get at the grocery store or somewhere and they’re like, oh my gosh, my life was changed.

The Dalys: And sometimes I can’t remember them all, but I said, oh, well what brigade were you on? Because that’s, it is, it’s changing. What’s so wonderful, I think, is when you bring these young kids down because. Obviously they’re our future. There have been so many kids that we have brought down that have, um, gone into the medical field, like, and in high school I brought 10 um, boys, their senior trip and five of ’em have become orthopedic surgeons that are in Peter’s group. I have, uh, two, two, uh, niece and a nephew that became orthopedic surgeons. I have three nieces that became nurses. So many of our friends’ kids have gone into it just ’cause they were exposed [00:37:00] to something so pure, so wonderful, so loving. And, um, it really, it, it was. Great. And so anytime people say to me, you know, oh, I want my child to experience it.

The Dalys: I said, I would love to take ’em, but you gotta come too. ’cause when you can see it through their eyes, it’s so beautiful. It really makes a difference in families coming closer ’cause. They’re experiencing something that they can never experience. The, the, the children, the, the patients, the, the surgeries. I mean, you don’t get to see that in its purest form.

The Dalys: So that’s the beautiful part, you know, and I would add to that, Kiera, that it’s not just medical fields to go into one of my son’s, well, we only have one of our four kids that are in the medical field, but. They’re all in. They’ve all grown tremendously in the desire for service. [00:38:00] You know, one of my sons is in in business and, and he knows what it is for a work ethic of service, and anybody wants to hire someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the purpose of the.

The Dalys: Of their business, um, and isn’t above any task that might be needed. So there’s a lot of life lessons that you get through service, um, no matter what field you’re in that is beneficial. And I think that’s what, um, I. What people have participated in it. Enjoy that. You know, one of one of our daughters, when she graduated from nursing school, she went down there for four months just to do the protocols.

The Dalys: When we were opening in 2008, she was doing all that for us, and she was just a brand new nurse. One of our daughters was a. Uh, teacher and she went down there and taught, um, for a year and, um, taught English to the kids on the ranch and worked with us when we were there. And, and [00:39:00] our other son, he was gonna be an orthopedic surgeon.

The Dalys: He was gonna take over. But he ended up becoming a Catholic priest. So he prays all the time for us, and we bring him down and he’s been wonderful and a really great support where his parishes, he talks about this at his parishes and brings down, uh, youth groups and, and, um, volunteers. We just went down to the DR with 10 of his parishioners to help us set up our chapel.

The Dalys: So we, you know, it, it continues to be a family. A affair. And we even took two of our grandchildren down for the first time last, uh, summer. And we’re gonna continue with them ’cause they’re dying to go. They’re like, when are we old enough to go? And so as soon as they turn, I mean, we started taking our kids when they were really young, so people have been taking them down when they’re three years old.

The Dalys: So it’s been, it’s been wonderful. It’s a great family, family place. So we love it.

Kiera Helms: it’s so clear [00:40:00] that’s amazing that it’s, you know, so widespread through your family and it’s such, such an impact on everyone that you’ve interacted with. I think that’s something really important to also, you know, remember as we’re going through and for providers that are looking to do this in the future, you know, the, it’s not just about serving the community.

Kiera Helms: There’s like lasting impacts that are going to come back with them as they go, you know, through their career and at the surgery center, you know, wherever they’re working. I think that’s really amazing. Um, kind of, you know, pivoting onto the next steps for one world surgery, what kind of, what are your guys’ future plans?

Kiera Helms: What do, what do the next steps kind of look like and how can listeners be a part of that?

The Dalys: Well, I, uh, one thing we’d like to do is to continue to deepen our roots in the two countries in which we serve, so that we can be a, a referral resource. We’re already a referral resource from some of the. Um, the, the, the largest public hospital, uh, that in [00:41:00] final tertiary care pathway hospital in Honduras sends us their, their, uh, difficult cases that they know we’ve got particular differences and expertise that, uh, that are present.

The Dalys: And also to provide some of the resources for those patients that they don’t have the answer for. Um, so deepen our roots. Um, expanding education. We have the fellowships in ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery in Honduras, uh, but also expanded to to more of the social year of service Honduran doctors that come.

The Dalys: We right now have three per year. We wanna increase that to four. And then also the nursing students that can rotate with us and partner and get mentored with, um, the different clinicians that are Honduran, but that are also some of the visitors from, from the US and other places. Um, and then provide some of those educational objectives to our newer facility in the Dominican Republic as well.

The Dalys: So we have [00:42:00] plenty to do. Um, you know, I, I, I wanted to also expand on, on, you know, inviting. People certainly of any background. What I love about medicine is that it is, um, such a, a universal platform for people to bind someone’s wound. It’s like a, a natural inclination of anybody to say, how, how can I help you?

The Dalys: Uh, when they see a wound that is physical or surgical or. You know, primary care or psychological. Um, and so we have, uh, in the, you know, in the world, there’s St. Mary’s Ho Hospital from a Catholic faith tradition. The Latter-Day Saints Hospital from a Mormon history, Lutheran General Hospital, Sinai Hospital.

The Dalys: Just regular non, just [00:43:00] entirely secular hospitals in different universities, but they all come together in a medical platform where everybody. Enjoys serving and helping. And so that’s what we want to continue to invite people from any background or tradition to, uh, join in that, in that service. And it’s been just a beautiful, a beautiful mix so far.

The Dalys: And, and we continue to expand it as well in, in, uh, in with people of different skill sets and different resources. Industry, we could never do what we do without some of the industry support that we get from vendors and different companies that, from which for which we apply to their charitable committees and, and get, uh, good used equipment or other, uh, excess, uh, inventory they might have that can help in this setting.

The Dalys: So there’s all kinds of ways that people can join in on that and that really will build our future, I think.

Kiera Helms: [00:44:00] Absolutely. For someone who’s listening and feels inspired, but is unsure where to start, what would be the first step that you guys would recommend?

The Dalys: Oh, go on our website. Sign up. Come on. A brigade. You don’t have to be medical. We, we need all kinds of volunteers. I. Took my mother, who’s 93, she’s been coming down for the last five years, and she goes in the kitchen and cooks. I’m from Italian family. She loves to do that, but we need all kinds of people to help just not only medical, but, but, um. Anyone can come and see, you know, I mean, there’s a lot of, some of our biggest donors aren’t medical and they’ve come and they’re like, whoa, this is real. This is, they can see the impact we’re having and the difference in people’s lives. So we invite everybody to come and we really would, would love it.

The Dalys: You could just go on our website and [00:45:00] sign up for our medical brigade. And, and, and we do have, we also have some different. Um, get togethers, fundraising and otherwise, uh, around country. Our gala are always fun. Yeah. One in Minneapolis, one in Denver, one in la, one in, uh, salt Lake City, um, California, Chicago.

The Dalys: Uh, so there’s, and we’re, we’re happy to have dinner at someone’s house. Or Lulu’s a great cook. Or I can cook. You can come here. I always, I do volunteer, volunteer her a lot for a lot parties. Um, no, it’s, but that’s how it works, you know, with family. That’s how it works. Well, it’s about relationships just come together.

The Dalys: I mean, things, things are sustained through relationships. And anybody you talk to about, you know, how they’re successful at business, well, it’s all about relationships and who you know and. Uh, what, what, how you share things. That’s what it’s about. And that’s true of this endeavor as well. [00:46:00] Um, that’s what makes it so special too, because you develop these long-term relationships with these beautiful, talented people in these countries in which we serve both the patients, but also the, um, you know, those that work with us.

The Dalys: And getting to see these people over and over again, uh, each time and spend more time with them is, is. What it’s about, it’s priceless.

Kiera Helms: Absolutely. Uh, well you’ve inspired me now. I wanted to go on a mission trip. Alright, well, for all of our listeners, we will be sure to add all of the links for the dailies for One World surgery so that you can donate, you know, medical supplies, sign up for a mission and find more information about their amazing cause.

Kiera Helms: What, what an incredible conversation to have. And on behalf of the entire DocBuddy team, thank you so much for listening and being here. We want to make sure that you’re subscribed on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube, so you never miss an episode of the DocBuddy Journal. And until next time, I’m your host [00:47:00] Kiera Helms, and we’ll talk to you again soon.

The Dalys: Thank you. Thank you.