A Tribute to Dr. Ho
Recently, Rotaplast lost one if it’s dedicated medical volunteers, Dr. Wan Ho.
Rotaplast International has a team of dedicated surgeons who not only change the lives of numerous children with their volunteered time, they also shape the culture of our missions. The missions are comprised of medical and non medical volunteers who derive great joy from meeting and helping children throughout the world. After working long hours at a foreign hospital, these volunteers take the time to make merry and enjoy the culture in which they find themselves.
Dr. Wan Ho was an exemplar volunteer plastic surgeon with Rotaplast. From 2003-2009, he completed seven missions in five countries: Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and China.
Dr. Janet Salomonson, his colleague on many of these missions, spoke about Dr. Ho:
It was such a privilege and honor to work with him on Rotaplast trips. He had such a career commitment to children with cleft. He worked with the cleft team at Kaiser. He had a very gentle way with the children and their families. He was really an artist, with an aesthetic eye. We would check on each other’s work. I so admired his delicate touch with tissue.
And he was always calm. Dr. Ho was a gentleman with staff. The creature comforts didn’t matter to him. He was enthusiastic about the setting, no matter where we were: Oaxaca, Mexico, Chile, other venues – in various types of facilities’. He was always resourceful and made every situation work well.
Dr. Ho was great at making friends with the local providers. Language never a barrier. Some local medical staff would come back just to see him, even if they weren’t on the team on the following year. He had a lot of respect for the locals – he was a great ambassador because he really got into the local culture. If everyone in the US had his spirit, we’d be much better off.
Dr. Ho was very interesting as a person. For example, he loved music. He and his wife both studied it. They were ball room dancers. I once asked him what he thought of “Dancing with the Stars. “ He smiled and said, “Oh, I don’t think they follow the rules.” One evening in a restaurant during a mission, Wan got up and sang mariachi. He had a lovely voice.
He loved sports, especially tennis, which he played all the time. He wasn’t one to miss the Australian Open no matter where he was. He was a kind and very special person with a sense of humor. He was a renaissance man who spoke so lovingly of his wife. He absolutely adored her.
Dr. Ho died suddenly while doing what he loved best. He is greatly missed by all.
If you would like to make a contribution in honor of Dr. Wan Ho, please make a donation on-line, using one of the links below. OR, make checks payable to Rotaplast International and be sure to note that it is on behalf of Dr. Ho's legacy.
Rotaplast International, Inc.
3317 26th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
| Donate With Google Checkout | |
| Donate with PayPal or any major US credit card | |
