There can barely be any person who is not affected by the advent of COVID-19. From businesses to individuals, the pandemic hasn’t spared any class, profession, or age group. Missions terminated, meetings canceled, politics delayed, diplomacy suffered, and whatnot. All impinged, except Dr. Ross Blagg, a plastic surgeon with a mission.
Before the pandemic besieged humanity, Dr. Blagg frequently visited Haiti and Guatemala to carry out surgical missions repairing cleft lips and other reconstructive needs. However, with the cessation of international travel in the wake of COVID-19, his missions abroad were disrupted entirely.
But Dr. Blagg is a man of commitment and creativity and came up with another plan to carry out inside the country to keep his philanthropic pursuits alive.
He is a devoted philanthropist. Wherever he has been in his life, helping others in any way possible has been his motivation. While in residency, he started an organization called ‘Humanitarian Plastic Surgery’ to help people in underdeveloped countries get treatment for their ailment. The organization worked to match people overseas with visiting surgical missions.
But Dr. Ross had a different idea this time: Plastic Surgery Road Trip (PSRT). Feeling disconnected from the world, he decided to reignite a favorite American adventure, the road trip. He has always been interested in documenting interesting stories, and previously founded Lyfe in Plastic Productions in pursuit of documentary story-telling. And PSRT is just that: a docu-series, currently airing on YouTube, where Dr. Ross and a friend road-trip cross country looking for deserving people with great stories, who need plastic surgery to help along their journey. “The real goal is to delve into the life of the patient and to get to know them. If I’m going to operate on a hockey mom, I want to jump in the car and go with her while she carts her kids to hockey practice. I want the kids to teach me to shoot a puck. I want people to see the story behind the procedure,” says Blagg. “And I can’t do anything without turning it into an adventure of some sort,” he laughs. And so he does! Whether he’s diving in an abandoned mine in Missouri (on his most recent trip) or finding his friend a good pair of Texas cowboy boots, Dr. Ross aims to create an American road trip adventure with each new outing.
“Plastic Surgery Road Trip has allowed me to combine my love of adventure, philanthropy, and being creative,” says Dr. Ross Blagg. “I have always loved the concept of adventure philanthropy, and creating something like PSRT has been really fulfilling,” he added.
COVID-19 may have many downsides, but Dr. Ross Blagg has proved how we can carve out the best for ourselves and others even in the bleakest of times. And the best part, he’s invited all of us along for the ride!
Follow the adventure on YouTube, and follow the daily adventures of Dr. Blagg on Instagram: @dr.rossblagg.
