Going the Extra Mile - Thousands

Hundreds of thousands of exhausting miles will have been traveled by our volunteers over the course of WJOS, most in the back of airplanes, buses, taxis, with inconvenient connections, long waits and lost baggage. Each volunteer goes the extra mile to get to their mission site where the hard work just then begins. Every so often, events and circumstances conspire to challenge even our best intentions to arrive on time and ready to operate. Here’s the amazing story of just one of our volunteers who exceeded all expectations to go above and beyond, doing everything possible to make it to the mission in Russia. Due to shipping errors, Dr. Arthur Rideout’s visa and passport were not due to arrive to his home until the middle of the mission. By that time and with subsequent travel, his participation would have been impossible. Art was not just a participating surgeon, but also team leader and field medical director. Clearly, his absence would have jeopardized the entire mission. Our staff at Mission Control did everything they could to no avail. Art, single handedly, managed to convince the shipping company to stop the truck driving his passport across Canada. He would then fly across the country to pick up his documents and return to catch his outbound mission flight in order to still arrive to his site only one day late. Art’s amazing efforts exemplify the extraordinary dedication and commitment of all volunteers at OpSmile. With individuals like these giving everything they have, surely we can make the world a much better place. Way to go Art !

- Dr. Randy Sherman