In May, Steve Orten and I sat down at Starbucks in Texas, for our first discussion on how Steve, who is a plastic surgeon and an ears-nose-throat surgeon, could support Ukrainians with medical aid. By late June, Steve was in the operating room participating in cleft palate and cleft lip surgery on a child at Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt.
I am so grateful to Steve, Alex Orten, Mark Kemp, for allowing me to help guide their first ever trip to Ukraine. Y’all are brave 
! Thank you to my friend, Andriana Malska, for introducing my American friends to your colleagues at Okhmatdyt. Thanks to generous donations from Dr. Steve and Dr. Alex, we were also able to provide over $100k in medical supplies on the same trip. I’m so thrilled that these American friends wanted to travel to Ukraine and help. They created lasting friendships with the brave Ukrainian doctors, volunteers, and professionals who are working tirelessly to support and heal their country despite relentless violence and terrorism from Russian invaders.
! Thank you to my friend, Andriana Malska, for introducing my American friends to your colleagues at Okhmatdyt. Thanks to generous donations from Dr. Steve and Dr. Alex, we were also able to provide over $100k in medical supplies on the same trip. I’m so thrilled that these American friends wanted to travel to Ukraine and help. They created lasting friendships with the brave Ukrainian doctors, volunteers, and professionals who are working tirelessly to support and heal their country despite relentless violence and terrorism from Russian invaders. I’m in awe of these American and Ukrainian medical professionals and am motivated to seek out more opportunities to build strong partnerships that can last both during and beyond the war. I look forward to more good things as a result of this exploratory journey, and more trips to come for these gentlemen.
PS – Dr. Steve Orten even appeared on local television!
Slava Ukraiini 
