What a wonderful week filled with teamwork, gratitude, and surgery!
The Fall 2026 team included Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Urology, and Pediatric ENT, who visited the Moore Center from September 19–26. We began the week by screening 142 children on Sunday for conditions involving the ears, tonsils and adenoids, sinuses, hernias, soft-tissue masses, undescended testes, and severe hypospadias. Over the following four days, our team was able to provide 92 children with the life-changing operations they needed.
Without the leadership and organizational (and packing!) skills of Leilani Briseno (CST) and Michele Haddock (CSFA), we would not have had the equipment and supplies necessary to care for all of these children.
Our non-medical volunteers on this trip included Claire Wang, a UT premedical student and member of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical fraternity, and our Child Life Specialist, Bea Neely. They were undoubtedly among the children’s favorite members of the team! Claire and Bea helped keep the children (and their parents!) calm and reassured in the pre-operative area as we prepared them for surgery.
Our Anesthesia team included Dr. Lindsey Rutland, Dr. Patrick Smollen, Dr. Landon Farris, Robyn Wriborg (CRNA), and Amanda Horne (CRNA). They ensured that our patients were safe and comfortably asleep throughout their procedures. They also made post-operative pain control a priority by performing numerous regional blocks in the operating room (OR).
Dr. Patrick Walz (ENT) from Columbus, Ohio, and Dr. Jared Duval (General Surgery Chief Resident) joined us for their first trip with OKD. Throughout the week, they worked tirelessly to screen patients and perform surgeries alongside returning OKD surgeons Dr. Dani Gonzalez (Pediatric Surgery), Dr. Mike Josephs (Pediatric Surgery), and Dr. Vani Menon (Pediatric Urology). Michelle Pullin (NP) also joined us for her first OKD experience and did a little bit of everything- including screening patients, preparing instruments, and helping with OR turnover, among many other tasks.
The ORs would not have run as smoothly as they did without the incredible support of our OR staff: Mike Kirby (Surgical Tech), Shontavia Desay (CST), Ruby Junejo (CST), Brenda Penn (RN), Gaby Martinez (RN), and Martha Ponce (RN). They kept our rooms running smoothly and efficiently! A special shout-out to Kimba Desai (RN), who flexed into the role of OR nurse when duty called!
After surgery, our patients were lovingly cared for by our wonderful Post-Anesthesia Care Unit nurses, Linda Allyn (RN), Melissa Reyes (RN), and Ana Ramos (RN). They kept our kiddos warm, comfortable, and pain-free until they could return to their parents’ loving arms.
Thank you to all of the staff at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center, including Medical Director Dr. Henry Giron, Facility Director Mike Guidel, and Operations Director Cecilia Pena. Without the staff’s dedication to the Center’s mission, it would not have been possible to complete these operations and provide care to so many children. OKD President Jordan Tarter (PharmD) also joined us on this trip, where she was able to take care of business, make plans for the future, and help move our organization forward. She even found opportunities to flex her pharmacist muscles, too!
Last. but certainly not least, a special shout-out to Dan Ernst CRNA for meeting us at the airport at almost midnight to ensure that our medical bags made it back safely.
A huge congratulations and heartfelt thank-you to the entire team for the dedication, love, compassion, and countless hours of hard work you poured into making this trip such a success. It truly takes an incredible team to make a week like this possible, and we are so grateful for every person who played a part!