Dr Darryl Hodgkinson writes:

Dr Brian Horan was one of our Mission Anaesthetists who served with us in Cebu in 1999 and 2000. Brian was a great teacher, a mentor and a gentle giant of our Mission. On a personal note, Brian and I started medical school together in 1967 and we maintained our friendship through medical school and during our careers we never lost touch. Brian became one of the chief anaesthetists in my private practice in Double Bay when I returned from the United States in 1992. All those who knew and worked with Brian admired him greatly and miss him after his untimely death three years ago.

Supported by our medical class of 1972 and Operation Restore Hope Australia, a Fellowship in Charity Paediatric Anaesthesia has been established. Any anaesthestist who is wanting this unique experience is welcome to apply for the Fellowship which provides for travel and accommodation for the anaesthetist at our annual mission for 1 to 2 weeks.

Email us at: ORHA@operationrestorehope.org

Dear Daryl,
I would like to thank you and everyone at Operation Restore Hope for the opportunity to join the team on the recent mission to Cebu in February 2008. Moreover, as the recipient of the Brian Horan Fellowship, I was especially grateful for the financial assistance granted to me.
To any other interested anaesthetists, I can thoroughly recommend the experience on all fronts. Whilst the week away was a busy one, the excellent and supportive team, both local and missionary, made working a pleasure. Educationally, such a concentrated exposure to paediatric facial plastic surgery is quite unlike any to be gained in usual clinical practice in large Western centres.
I look forward to future missions,

Your truly,
Sam Koch

Dear Darryl,

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to join your team on the recent mission in Caloocan. It was a privilege to work with such a dedicated and high quality team, and participate in work that is so life transforming for those on the receiving end.

Thankyou also for granting me the Brian Horan Fellowship in Paediatric Anaesthesia. It certainly enables the first timer to go away on such a mission without second thoughts as to the financial cost of such a trip.

I look forward to joining the team in future missions.

Yours sincerely

Simeon Eaton

"Dear Darryl,

I would like to express my thanks to you and your team for the opportunity to participate in your recent mission to the Philippines. I am very grateful to be this year’s recipient of the Brian Horan fellowship. The financial assistance has made it much easier for me to take the time off away from my work and family.

I must say that the level of organisation of this mission totally exceeded all my expectations. I found the experience extremely positive, with invaluable experience working alongside other specialists and a great theatre team in a foreign environment. It was such a rewarding experience, to be able to significantly help those with such great need.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone involved and hope to do this again in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Wong
MBChB, FANZCA"

Our first recipient of the Brian Horan Fellowship, Dr Christopher Flynn, put pen to paper after his 2005 Mission in Manila:

"Dear Darryl,

Many thanks for the opportunity to work with your team in Manila, February 2005. The organisation and professionalism put into the week of surgery was obvious. The results of the week stand alone for the children involved.

Thank you also for being able to access the Brian Horan Fellowship. This scholarship made it much easier to spend a week away from my public work, without having to worry about anything except the job on hand. It was much appreciated.

As a recently qualified anaesthetist, it was of great benefit to work alongside experienced practitioners in paediatric medicine, in an overseas setting.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Flynn"