Jason, the OR surgical assistant

Meet Jason, the OR surgical assistant. He has dedicated himself to helping others, putting them before himself. His road to this position sounds like a methodical step- by-step approach. Jason was training to be a firefighter and became an EMT. High fascination with medicine led him to then become a nurse. He continued his education, training as a physician assistant (PA) at UW’s Medex Program in Spokane. He has worked with Dr. Worrall for 10 years primarily operating on children, repairing congenital heart defects. He loves working with this population because no two cases are the same even though the diagnosis may similar preoperatively. He also loves the intensity of doing cardiac surgery and seeing the dramatic change in peoples’ lives following the surgery. Jason loves being with his 3 children and takes the majority of their snapshots! (Sandy tends to take the studio shots). He plays ice hockey 1 to 2 times/week as a goalie and has started running which he really likes. Jason and his wife, Sandy, sponsor a child through World Vision. She lives in a village about an hour outside Kigali. He has been able to visit her each time he has come to Rwanda with HHNW. This year, he will be able to introduce Sandy to her. Jason has been with HHNW since the beginning. He loves Rwanda and says that the reason he has come each time to Rwanda because he loves Rwanda and the ability to put his skills to work to help change lives. Outside of Rwanda, there is little opportunity to do heart surgery outside of the US. He has been assisting every surgery HHNW has performed to date. Whereas there are 2 surgeons who might tag team, Jason has assisted with EVERY case. A rare breed indeed!! Thank you, Jason for your continued dedication.