Standing straight: Together we Stand
My name is Lottie Goddard and this past Fall 2022 was my third year working with Standing Straight in Punjab India for a month long medical mission.
After a tumultuous childhood in and out of hospitals, I had seen more than I should have at my age in the medical field. Some of the experience were good, others were less than optimal. This led me to the Standing Straight spinal organization and my goal of becoming a Pediatric Spine Surgeon.
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Standing Straight's Mission
Standing Straight is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose board, donors and medical volunteers are dedicated to providing pediatric spinal care in developing nations. All donations and volunteer hours directly support Standing Straight surgical missions.
STANDING STRAIGHT MISSION:
Free Surgical Intervention- Providing free life saving spinal deformity surgeries for the neediest of children
Sharing Medical Expertise- Educating local medical staff to raise the level of orthopedic care in impoverished communities across the globe
Standing Straight is a non profit organization who provides free spinal surgery to impoverished children in developing countries such as India. The main surgical procedure that is performed is corrections of various forms of scoliosis in pediatric patients. Originally, the organization was connected to Operation Rainbow, which was mostly in South America and focusing on simple orthopaedic procedures. Later on, Dr.Ravi Bains , chief of Orthopedic surgery at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, wanted to provide complex spine surgeries to those who needed it the most, to allow them to live up to their best potential, with the possibility of a normal and happy life.
Why this work is important
Scoliosis and spinal deformities are more prevalent in lower to middle income countries throughout the world, especially in young girls, in comparison to high income countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Many of the high income countries have better funding and medical systems which start screening for spinal diseases such as scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis in young children throughout primary school. In contrast however, lower and middle income countries such as India and Pakistan have less access to comprehensive screening for such diseases universally for the whole population due to medical infrastructure being sub par and discriminatory to certain categories of people. It is imperative to explore ways in which spinal deformities and disease can be reduced and corrected, especially in young women and girls, in Punjab,India to reduce the burden of disease and reduce DALYs of the population (disability adjusted life years).
Why it matters
Success Story:
JASPREET Kaur a young girl from Punjab, India, had previously received several operations from other local hospitals, attempting to correct her spinal deformity of severe kyphosis, yet they were all unsuccessful. Her quality of life was abysmal and every day was a massive struggle. Due to her condition, she was forced to drop out of school , could not hold a job, and was segregated from the rest of her community.Standing Straight was able to perform the corrective surgery that Jaspreet so desperately needed . After the successful operation and recovery, Jaspreet was able to complete her education, start her own family and a new life without the constraints of spinal disease. |
Example of surgical intervention required for severe Kyphosis
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About my work
A major aspect of my volunteering revolved around fundraising to allow for more surgeries to be completed, once the medical team arrived in India. I had to think critically to develop ways in which my fundraising efforts would be noticed by a broad range of people. By completing several courses through Association of Fundraising People AFP, I was successful in raising a large sum that is still continuing now by using techniques such as polls, reels, and constant media outputs to create prolonged engagement with my target audience.
A new challenge for me during the medical mission was creating a promotional video, to help raise awareness for the cause and encourage donations to allow for medical missions like this to continue in the future. I was able to work with an amazing local media team who taught me how to edit and create a story rather than just a collage of images which greatly improves the impact on the audience. This video was a major learning curve and was more time consuming than I would have imagined, but I gained an amazing skill that I will be able to utilize in my future endeavors such as creating and telling stories of patients to come.
One of my main positions while working with Standing Straight was as a SPD technician. The Sterile Processing Department (SPD) within a surgical setting is responsible for the preparation and sterilization of all surgical instruments, equipment and supplies. This is a vital department to ensure patient safety and successful surgery outcomes. In the case of spinal surgeries, the SPD is essential for the preparation of the operating room, the collection and sterilization of instruments and the preparation of the operating table. The SPD must also ensure that all instruments used for spinal surgery are in good condition and sterile. They must also ensure that all supplies and equipment are available for the surgery and that the patient’s specific needs are met. The SPD must also be able to respond quickly to any changes in the surgery plan or patient needs. It is vital that the SPD is able to provide the surgical team with all the necessary supplies and equipment to ensure a successful spinal surgery. Without this team, the surgeries would not be possible. preparation:
Gurney from store room with instrument sets and spinal hardware taken to be sterilized
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Surgical drapes in peel packs in receiving window waiting to be sterilized
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Two surgery trolleys filled with sterilized spinal surgery instruments and hardware
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