2022 Travel Team Feature: Chrissie DiVincenzo
Preparations are well underway for the 2022 Operation Walk Mission to Antigua, Guatemala. Each year, roughly 30% of our team is brand new and have never traveled with us before. In this series, we will highlight veteran and new members of the travel team so that you can see what brings the team joy at work, at home, and in their community. This year’s trip will be our seventh to Antigua, and our twelfth trip overall. We enjoy returning to Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro, our partner hospital in Antigua, which we affectionately call our home away from home. The relationships formed over the last 13 years of traveling there are lasting.
Travel team members generously volunteer their time, talent, and energy toward our shared goal of providing the gift of mobility to patients in need. There are financial and time commitments that each travel team member reaches in order to make the mission a reality for our patients. Despite this, many of our volunteers have traveled on at least 50% - 75% of our missions over the years.
Read on to meet our next travel team member, Chrissie DiVincenzo. Chrissie is from North Carolina and has been on six mission trips with Operation Walk Pittsburgh. She has been energetic and a friendly face both in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit and outside. We are fortunate to have a veteran travel team member like Chrissie who embraces her role and experience. Read more to learn about Chrissie, her career, and what Operation Walk Pittsburgh means to her!
Meet Travel Team Member Chrissie DiVincenzo!
From where does Chrissie hail? What brings her joy?
Chrissie was born in Florida, raised in Pennsylvania, and currently lives in Denver, North Carolina with her husband, Steve, her five year old son, Liam, and their dog, Charlie. In North Carolina, she works at a pain management clinic. In her free time, Chrissie entertains her very busy child, taking him to different places where they can both have fun. Chrissie also attends church on Sundays, and volunteers at the kids’ ministry. This past year, Chrissie has spent time trying to learn more Spanish, “One of the hardest things for me on these trips is the language barrier because I love to talk. So, hopefully I’ll be able to carry on a conversation this year”.
What is Chrissie’s role on Operation Walk Pittsburgh?
Chrissie is a PACU nurse (post anesthesia care unit). She monitors patients right after surgery. In the PACU, the nurses are constantly assessing the patients by watching their vital signs closely and coordinating with the medical and surgical teams about their recovery. PACU nurses have the special privilege of being the first face that a patient sees after surgery. They allay any fears that patients have about pain and remind them that they’ll be walking later that day with their new knee or hip. The PACU team works with both medical and nursing teams to transfer care over to the floor nurses to continue the patient's recovery.
“I truly love being a nurse. I love taking care of people, and I have a genuine love for my patients.” - Chrissie
How did Chrissie get involved with Operation Walk Pittsburgh?
This will be Chrissie’s seventh trip with OpWalk. She got involved because she had a friend who was part of the team who knew she always wanted to be a part of this mission trip group. In 2013, when there was a need for a PACU nurse at the last minute, her friend reached out to Chrissie. Chrissie thankfully jumped on the opportunity and says it was one of the best decisions of her life.
When asked the three words she would use to describe Operation Walk Pittsburgh, Chrissie answered, INDESCRIBABLE, FULFILLING, REFRESHING.
Every travel team member agrees to a fundraising commitment as a condition of joining the team. Donations made to Operation Walk Pittsburgh in a travel team member’s name are used to cover the cost of critically needed surgical supplies and equipment for the mission. Would you please consider making a donation in Chrissie’s name to support her fundraising goal. Remember, 100% of all donations made to Operation Walk Pittsburgh directly support patient care during the mission.
Won’t you help Chrissie reach her fundraising goal?