There is no slowing down at year-end for the NuVasive Spine Foundation™ (NSF)! The NSF team just got back from their last mission trip of the year in Barbados and has launched a new fundraising campaign to support 2018 direct mission trips.
In partnership with World Pediatric Project, NSF performed eight adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgeries at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in Bridgetown, Barbados. The team was led by Steve Hwang, MD and Andrew Vivas, MD, with the help of Kevin Moroney, product manager, Heather Greenburg, neurophysiologist, and NSF teammates Jamie Hagan and Nic Didier.
One of the amazing patients on NSF’s latest mission trip was 19-year-old Janine. Learn more about her story and her dreams for life after surgery below!
Janine is a 19-year old from Barbados, with an unwavering passion for life. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with scoliosis and has been confined to wearing a brace 23-hours a day. Through it all, Janine remained committed to living her life to the fullest. Last year, she won a prestigious honor of serving as an ambassador for her parish, and spent the year focusing on improving agriculture within her community as a way to better her nation.
Janine was one of eight inspiring young ladies who received spine surgery on NSF’s Barbados mission trip. Once she has healed from her surgery, she hopes to utilize her diploma in Health Sciences to become an EMT and help people in need.
NSF can’t wait to kick-off 2018! After a year of Foundation revitalization, the team is excited to officially re-launch the NSF Direct Mission program in 2018 and will announce the new direct mission location in January. Through direct missions, NSF assembles and funds a NuVasive surgical team to travel around the globe to an under-resourced community to provide life-changing spine surgery and train local surgeons on innovative spine techniques and technology.
To support NSF’s efforts in 2018, the team has launched a “50 in 50” campaign with the goal of raising $50,000 in 50 days throughout December 2017 and January 2018. 100% of the proceeds will go towards funding a direct mission in the New Year.
Follow NSF’s Facebook page to keep track of all the great things to come!