Citizens Memorial Hospital | Vitality | Summer 2019

6 VITALITY Summer 2019 COMMUNITY Carrying suitcases of warm clothes and hearts full of faith, Edwin Casado and his wife, Zoraida, arrived at Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) on a frigid, bleak day in February. Believing in a miracle, the Casados stepped away from their jobs and traveled nearly 2,000 miles from their sunny tropical home in the Dominican Republic for Edwin to have minimally invasive spine surgery with board certified orthopedic surgeon Troy Morrison, D.O. The first time Edwin met Dr. Morrison was in 2017, when the physician was on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic led by The Courageous Church in Springfield. Edwin had lived with a broken back for over 40 years. He recalls hearing his back “crack” while Dr. Morrison prays with Edwin Casado during a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Dr. Morrison, Edwin and Casey Dampier, LPN (CMH Orthopedic & Spine Center and on the mission team) meet before his surgery. A miracle for Edwin Patient from the Dominican Republic has minimally invasive spine surgery at CMH carrying a bag of cement over his head when he was a teenager. School sports became painful and difficult, but physicians just told him he had arthritis. In 1999, Edwin was in an accident and was thrown from his vehicle, permanently injuring his spine. He endured years of debilitating pain. Physicians and surgeons in the Dominican Republic told Edwin that there was no way to fix his back and that he would just have to live with the pain. He had given up hope until he met Dr. Morrison at a hospital in Bani, Dominican Republic. Dr. Morrison and The Courageous Church medical team were serving the people of Bani in medical clinics and the hospital. After reviewing X-rays and examining Edwin, Dr. Morrison developed a surgical plan to repair Edwin’s spine. The team returned to Bani the following year with the hopes of performing the surgery for Edwin. Unfortunately, the equipment needed to perform the complex procedure was not available. The team watched Edwin leave the hospital that day with his spirits low and his hope diminished. But Dr. Morrison did not give up on a miracle for Edwin. On the plane ride home, he began to develop a plan to bring Edwin to Bolivar, where he had the equipment to perform the complex minimally invasive surgery. “When I returned from the mission trip, I met with Mr. Babb [CMH CEO/Executive Director], shared the story with him and asked if I could do the surgery at CMH…and if there ORTHOPEDICS