Dr Mark Blackman and Karen Blackman, RN

Karen had a breadth of experience prior to her final position working in a local Community Health Clinic for two decades, and then finally retiring a few years ago. Mark was a busy Family Physician enjoying the opportunity to care for people of all ages and truly experiencing the breadth of work in a smaller community, including participating in over 1,000 deliveries! Together they have raised three children, all married now and scattered across the country. They have four grandchildren each of whom are healthy and well. This is their first opportunity to work together professionally! The interview was conducted in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala where Karen and Mark were part of a Rotary volunteer medical team performing orthopedic surgeries on 51 local children. The desire to serve the poor with donated medical skills supported by volunteers from other walks of life takes a combination of commitment, generosity and compassion along with the patience to work with other skilled people on the same team. This video is about a medical mission team of over 35 self-sponsored volunteers going on their eighth trip to a poor area of Guatemala (San Lucas Mission). It is is organized and supported as a collaboration between Opal House, the Fidalgo Island Rotary Club and Gillette Children’s Specialty Care. Although the team concentrates on treating clubfoot (Ponseti International) and other lower extremity deformities (Podiatry Institute), it also focuses on most pediatric orthopedic conditions needing attention in a third world setting. The results of these surgeries are nothing short of life-changing.