Doctors raise funds for mission by swimming 60 miles on Hamlin Lake. 

Doctors raise funds for mission by swimming 60 miles on Hamlin Lake. 

By Kate Goodman, MCP Correspondant. 

Around the County is a presentation of Preferred Credit Union, www.preferredcu.org, located locally at 266 N. Jebavy Dr., Ludington.

HAMLIN TOWNSHIP — Last Saturday morning, six doctors from across America partnered with the Team Hope in Motion to complete a 60 mile swim in Hamlin Lake ending on the beach in Epworth Heights. “I’m honored to be here and see something completed that seems unattainable. Glad to see their safety,” said Dawana Page, nurse administrator for Team Hope in Motion.

Team Hope in Motion started as Operation Walk in 1995 by Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr, in Los Angeles.  His goal was to teach physicians by getting hands-on with surgery demonstrations. Eventually, Dr. Dorr put together a team of surgeons, internal medicine doctors, anesthesiologists, nurses, and physical therapists, and planned their first ever Operation Walk trip to Havana, Cuba. In Cuba, the doctors provided free hip and knee replacements, or addressed issues regarding joints. Since then, Operation Walk has expanded to 13 locations across the United States and was renamed in 2021 to Team Hope in Motion (Team HIM) after partnering with Faith In Practice.

To raise awareness and funds, Team HIM plans adventures. “We do silly extreme adventures,” said Dr. Keith Berend of New Albany, Ohio. 

In 2019, four orthopedic doctors bicycle relayed from San Diego to Minneappolis, in hopes of raising money for the Team HIM mission trips to Guatemala. Dr. Berend’s wife suggested the next “silly adventure” be swimming across Lake Michigan. “Even though we’re spread geographically, we’re all a very close group of guys,” remarked Dr. Andrew Isch, of Indianapolis. “We text almost daily and use that friendship to help problems bigger than ourselves.”

This year’s silly adventure was almost sidelined due to currents in Lake Michigan.  An alternative swim, 60 miles in Hamlin Lake, was held instead.

Team HIM has begun filming an FX documentary along with Randy Boerema which will include the group’s newest adventures including the Hamlin Lake swim and relay race from last Saturday.  The team will continue filming their documentary this October when it embarks on a mission trip to Guatemala.

Team HIM can be found online at teamhopeinmotion.org.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website. 

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.