By Skylar Christensen/Ouida Duncan/Editor Henry Boehm | Junior Copywriter/Project Leader/Editor
When the Duncan Tree Foundation volunteer spine surgeons and other volunteers show up at the hospitals in Jamaica and the Philippines, all the medical supplies they need to complete their surgical miracles are waiting for them, like magic.
Yet it isn’t magic that relieves Duncan Tree Foundation from transporting the supplies; it’s the hard work of people like Chris Walker-Diaz and the other members of the Medtronic team.
Medtronic Spine & Biologics (MSB) provides the medical implants and instruments used by the Duncan Tree Foundation medical team, completing all the behind-the-scenes work of ordering the required equipment and working with the shipper and DTF’s logistics team, then getting them through customs at least a month in advance of the surgeons’arrival. Without the dedication of the Medtronic team, DTF’s many successful trips would not have been possible.
Chris Walker-Diaz started volunteering with DTF five years ago and hasn’t looked back. He does more than just order titanium implants and instrumentation and make sure the surgeons have what they need; he has also gone on a several scoliosis mission trips to Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) and Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) in Jamaica.
After hearing about previous mission trip experiences from Dr. Kenneth Paonessa, who is DTF’s Vice President and Lead Surgeon, and a Board Member, and after working with Ouida Duncan, DTF's founder, he didn’t need any convincing to join the team to meet the people who ultimately benefit from the surgical supplies: the patients. Walker-Diaz shared with us that before his first scoliosis mission trip he watched videos on DTF’s YouTube channel and talked with others who had traveled with DTF to prepare himself for what he would encounter at CRH and KPH in Jamaica, but nothing and nobody could fully describe the feeling of actually being there.
The feeling of welcomeness he instantly felt from the local hospital staff made it easy for him to get into the swing of things and to see why DTF has been so successful and has grown so rapidly.
Walker-Diaz noted that even as he was an adviser to the DTF board and liaison between DTF and MSB, his DTF responsibilities have grown over the past five years. His family of the rest of his Medtronic team based in Connecticut have also become supporters of DTF, which helps make the bi-annual mission trips possible. When the team members come back from mission trips, they come back changed and more fulfilled people.
With the support of their families, many have become donors, active fundraisers, and supporters of DTF year-round. Walker-Diaz concluded, “The Duncan Tree Foundation is a great organization to be a part of and is constantly growing. It will be interesting to see where it will be five years from now.”
To donate to the Duncan Tree Foundation now and become one of our many appreciated supporters, visit our home page at www.duncantreefoundation.org or visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
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