25 Years of Healing in Honduras: Dr. Michael McDonald

In March, a volunteer surgical team led by longtime UnityPoint Health – Meriter Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon, Dr. Michael McDonald, set off on a seven-day mission trip to Honduras. Their goal was to offer surgical care to local patients, performing over 30 operations and to donate a 40-foot shipping container full of medical equipment, including over 1,000 hearing aids donated by the Starkey Hearing Aid company.

Since Dr. McDonald’s pioneering trip in 1998, hundreds of Meriter and UW Health team members and dedicated community members have joined forces to organize the annual trip.

Dr. McDonald’s inspiration came from his uncle, who did medical mission work in Nigeria. He jumped at the opportunity to observe another mission trip for vein injections in LaCeiba, Honduras in 1998. There, he forged meaningful connections with the people and physicians, who were rebuilding a hospital and city following the devastation of Hurrican Mitch. Dr. McDonald’s admiration for their expertise and resilience fueled his decision to return the following year, this time with several members of the Meriter surgery department in tow.

“I think most healthcare workers have a desire to do mission work,” Dr. McDonald shared, “So it's been rewarding to be able to offer people that opportunity.”

Now, 25 trips to Honduras later, this mission work is a collaborative effort between Wisconsin and Honduran ENTs, surgical technicians, RNs and anesthesiologists to perform complex surgeries, free of charge to the city’s residents. The Madison community has also rallied behind this cause, with individuals like Cheri Krause collecting materials and assembling surgical packs year-round and Chet Hermansen, owner of Chet’s Car Care, storing supplies and arranging the shipment of a 40-foot crate filled with medical supplies.

“People come out of the woodwork to help our cause,” Dr. McDonald expressed, “it really restores your faith that there’s good in the world.”

The Operating Room (OR) in Honduras presented unique challenges with limited resources such as bottled oxygen and lower-tech equipment.

“You’re working in an OR with equipment you’re not used to,” Erin Dahl, a Registered Nurse on this year’s trip reflected. “It teaches you to be resourceful and appreciate what you do have once we’re back in the Meriter OR.”

“We’re all there to work together for the same reason. Egos are checked at the door,” said Jillian Ransom, another Surgical Technician on the trip. “If something breaks, you fix it or adapt to work without it and keep going. We were all in it together – Dr. McDonald was even standing in as a surgical tech for a while!”

In the early years of this initiative, the team collaborated with local Honduran high school students, enlisting their help as translators. Several of these students have pursued medical careers and now participate in the annual mission trip as physicians. Outside of the OR, Dr. Michael’s team also holds classes to teach these high school students how to fit hearing aids, which they continue to do throughout the year as the high school’s service project.

Reflecting on the past 27 trips, Dr. McDonald acknowledged the invaluable lessons learned from the skilled medical team in Honduras. “I’ve learned the value in slowing down, taking my time with my patients,” he said, “I’ve seen these surgeons perform successful procedures with vastly different methods than us; teaching us that ‘different’ doesn’t mean ‘wrong’.”