The relationships formed during Operation Walk Pittsburgh from our Program Director, Nick Langston
Operation Walk Pittsburgh takes pride in the incredible relationships we’ve built along the way…from our foundational relationship with Obras, to our unforgettable relationships with patients, and our lasting friendships with travel team members. Our Program Director, Nick Langston, knows these relationships firsthand. Hear more about Nick’s experience as the leader of OpWalk and the many relationships he has made.
What does Operation Walk mean to you?
I was hired as the Program Director here at Operation Walk Pittsburgh in early April, 2018. At the time, I didn’t have a background in healthcare. I didn’t know anything about the supplies needed or what joint replacement surgery was like for patients, or really anything about planning mission trips. But I think my boss, Dr. Tony DiGioia, saw in me determination, a willingness to learn, and flexibility. He also liked that I had tons of international experience working in developing countries. My first mission trip was later that year in October. And regardless of that initial trust Dr. DiGioia showed, there was still a very steep learning curve.
I bring all of this up about the beginning, because when I’m asked what Operation Walk means to me, I can’t help but think about how supportive and welcoming the whole OpWalk family was and still is…right from day one.
The team truly thinks of itself as a family of clinicians, not merely a team. I was immediately met with phone calls and meetings with team leaders, experienced travel team members, and hospital staff who taught me about patient care pathways, supplies, protocols, and best practices when planning mission trips of this scale. They opened their hearts to me, inviting me to lunch or over to watch a movie, shared their weekends with me, and let me shadow them at work. I received an immense amount of support and encouragement.
It was amazing to me how close knit everyone was, how important their relationships were with one another, not just in a professional sense, but also as a group of friends who truly care for one another and their patients. Later, as I got to interact with hospital staff in Guatemala during planning, I saw that this commitment to one another and relationship-building extended across international borders.
Before we’d get down to business in any call or meeting, there would always be a great deal of jovial conversation – catching up with one another, asking about kids and grandparents, checking in on daily life, and laughing about pictures they’d shared in the preceding days.
It was thrilling to be a part of that… and it still is. To me, Op Walk is all about the relationships we foster, all about the extended family. These things are woven into the fabric of our mission as a nonprofit. I couldn’t imagine a better working environment. Operation Walk Pittsburgh has allowed me to grow as a person, not just as a professional.
And best of all, when the curtain goes up and the operating rooms start humming, this family gets down to business. I’ve never seen such professional devotion in healthcare. The team doesn’t just talk the talk, they embody the mission. It’s in their hands, in their hearts, in their delivery of care. They’ve got the professional acumen and determination to deliver only the very best outcomes for their patients. It’s life-changing to witness, and life-changing for the patients to experience.
As the years have gone by, my relationships with team leaders, hospital staff, and travel team volunteers have only grown stronger. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize that during the morning, I could be laughing and catching up while on the phone with a shipping coordinator friend of mine in Guatemala and later in the day touching base with a travel team member in Canada or Orlando, FL I haven’t heard from in awhile. My network of friends and colleagues has grown by miles. It spans borders and languages. Some of the people I’ve traveled with for mission trips have become close friends. I mean it’s crazy… I even met my fiancé through OpWalk! I think ours might be the very first Operation Walk marriage!
What is the key to all of these relationships?
The key to all of this, I think, is love. That’s what it comes down to. Putting others before oneself. Giving of one’s energy to others in body and spirit. I think everyone has this gift inside them. I think everyone has the capacity to love. But maybe it’s concentrated in the healthcare world? I can’t say for sure. But you know, team members often say that Operation Walk Pittsburgh mission trips allow them to get back to the very roots of what motivated them to pursue careers in healthcare in the first place. Personally, I think that motivation must be rooted in love, in compassion and empathy for others, and each other. And I see it every day in the personal and professional relationships that make Operation Walk Pittsburgh special…I believe we love and care for one another.
We’re all in this together. This crazy world keeps spinning, and there’s a lot of division and animosity floating around, not just here in the United States but abroad, too. Especially these days. It would be easy to become bitter, disenfranchised or cynical about the prospects of the human race. But not for me. Through my work, I get to see the best in all of us every day. I witness love and human relationships that span political identity, span cultures, span sexual identity, span everything that we know to be divisive. When it comes down to caring for one another, when we’ve got a job to do, when our mission is to help, we demonstrate determination, a willingness to learn, and flexibility. The outcome is that we grow closer to one another. Our relationships become all the more meaningful and heartfelt…and best of all, our patients succeed. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.