Kids First Doctors Hit 1,000th Surgery for Needy Children in Mexico Ricardo Castillo - The News
go to original May 28, 2013

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE – Guanajuato state and municipal authorities honored U.S. orthopedists Billy Andrews and Gregory Mencio last week after they performed their 1,000th surgery for needy children.

Both are part of the organization Kids First, which has sponsored a surgery week for needy children for the past nine years.

Dr. Andrews said that performing 1,000 surgeries was easier said than done, “but this was possible because of a lot of hard work from a lot of people.”

The ceremony was held at the General Hospital and attended by a host of local officials.

This is the first public event Kids First has held since surgeries began nine years ago. But for the past 10 years, Dr. Roberto Maxwell and U.S. expat Kathy Letzinger have made the arrangements to accommodate Andrews and Mencio’s staff.

Andrews said, “What keeps us going is two things. One, our group comes from all over the United States and we get together for these trips, so it’s a reunion for us. It’s really fun time to be with our friends.

“And the other is thing is that we’re all committed to helping children. So it’s easy to work hard on a project where you feel you’re getting a return,” he added.

“It costs us about $45,000 dollars to do a trip, but it’s money we are willing to spend for these children.”

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