Oh Saturday! Today was spent at the Universidad de Valle de Guatemala. It began in the big lecture hall with an introduction to each therapy and to our clinic at Children’s Therapy T.E.A.M. It had previously been requested to list our “Top 10 (or 16) Items” that could be used across disciplines. Items such as, a therapy ball, baby doll, duct tape, bathroom stools, and pillows were all used. Paige got away with introducing some items since benches and balance discs just really weren’t her thing. We then split into “labs”. Each discipline had their own lab and students signed up to attend the labs that were of most interest to them. Paige taught on PECS and spontaneous language development in the natural setting, Kelly taught how to make OT materials from everyday objects and therapy techniques for different diagnoses, and Nicole…well she had quite the time teaching about positioning and therapy techniques for different diagnoses. Things started out well, but then she “stumped her translator” and her notes went temporarily missing; however, she made it through and had tons of good questions from her participants. Lastly, we held a panel interview for those who had specific questions. Many educators and parents attended to ask about their kiddos. We were very happy to help them! Tomorrow we head to Mama Carmen’s farm to see some old friends and follow-up on these sweet children.
We are kind of slow with our photographic updates so, here are some photos from our time at the government funded orphanage and the baby house from Friday.
We would count today a success! We returned to a government-funded orphanage we initially visited last spring. During that visit, it was unclear as to what our role was in this new relationship. It was very important that we return to build the foundation for a continuous relationship and to help them in whatever way we could to care for the 70 + residents they house. We are SO glad we returned! We were greeted eagerly by the staff, which included occupational therapists, physical therapists, and special educators. They were very helpful in gathering the residents for which they had the most concern. Nicole was able to help a gentleman walk by giving him AFOs for stability and show the proper technique for using a walker to help him ambulate. The gentleman was very proud of himself and was smiling and laughing when she was able to walk with him. Paige met a non-verbal young man who strongly reminded her of someone back home and quickly formed a bond. She was able to initiate the PECS program and educate his teachers on how to best help him and the other residents communicate. He picked it up VERY quickly and we think it will be a very viable communication system for him. Kelly helped with the many sensory needs of the residents…and there were A LOT! We are so grateful God afforded us the opportunity to further our relationships with this orphanage and those who work there. They are truly caring individuals who have a heart to serve their residents.
We then met up with Carol and traveled to a baby orphanage. Not a bad way to end the day, right? So many adorable children! Paige was able to help so many children with language delay and articulation issues, and she and Kelly helped educate the nannies on how to best feed a child with was likely aspirating. Nicole worked on educating about tummy time and transitions for mobility. The workers in this baby house were so eager to learn and Carol had said that she could really see a difference between now and her previous visit.
Tomorrow are our University presentations. We will be speaking to special educators from all over Guatemala. Please pray for wisdom, guidance, and the right words to convey what we do in a manner that will motivate and enable them to make an impact on the kiddos throughout Guatemala.
We made to Guatemala! Thank you Delta for waiving our fees and being so kind to us during our travels!
We were warmly welcomed by the friends we have made here in Guatemala and treated to lunch and a shopping trip to collect a few last minute goods. After a good night sleep, we were ready to head out! We picked up Carol (But, we might have forgot our translator, whoops! He did meet up with us eventually) and headed to the town of San Cristobal and to the surrounding farm villages. Our first stop was a village clinic. The clinic was amazing and provided pre-natal/post-natal care, dental care, general medical care, and teacher educating training. We then headed into the village to follow-up on a sweet little girl from the last trip with osteogenesis imperfecta. Unfortunately, she has suffered a broken leg since our last trip and is very uncomfortable seated in any chair. We are hoping to head back to her house later in the trip with a new wheelchair or modifications that will make her more comfortable and aide in better breathing. Paige was able to educate her mother on ways to improve caloric intake. We were also able to see a 16-month-old little boy with hydrocephalus. We were able to educate the mother on positioning for neck and back strength and are planning to head back to their house with lighted and musical toys to help increase play time and interest.
Kelly and Nicole got to time travel back to their rehab days when we were asked to visit two of the local women’s husbands. A car hit one and the other was suffering from several mini strokes. There was lots of range of motion, positioning, and strengthening to be had!
We ended our day with the honor of attending the opening of a Manna Orphanage with a baby wing dedicated to Miss Quynh Harlan. We were able to witness her loving father, mother, and brother share her story and begin their journey of spreading God’s love and the love they have for Quynh to the orphans and residents of Guatemala. It was such a blessing and a great way to start our trip. We are looking forward to all God has in store for us as we are headed to many new places in hopes of building new connections and relationships.
We are excited to have a guest blogger today! Amanda Wherry, a former Children's Therapy TEAM Occupational Therapist has spent the past 6 years living and working in China. Amanda has paved the way for the first generation of "therapists" working in Western China, providing education and leadership for this new group of occupational, physical and speech therapists. We are beyond blessed to know Amanda and hope to continue this partnership with her!
it was an amazing time. the therapists have come and gone, but the impact they left behind is indescribable and unmeasurable. in just a short week and a half they conducted 24 hours of trainings covering 17 topics, we saw more patients than i can count (one day, we saw 10 patients for OT, PT and ST and introduced speech therapy eval techniques to the head of the stroke rehabilitation and neurology department - all in just a 2 hour time span). and the department now has some pieces of equipment that it's been needing for the past 6 years. did i mention that this all happened in 8 days? i can't explain my thankfulness. it's more than just the fact that this department took some great leaps forward in the areas of PT/OT/ST, and it's more than the fact that now this therapy department is the only department offering speech therapy and having the potential to work within the NICU in all of central and western China. for me personally, for a week and a half, i had a little piece of home by my side. i had former coworkers and friends right here, seeing and gaining understanding about what my life has looked like for the past 5 years. they experienced the smells of flooded sewer streets and unclean squatty potties, of people who haven't bathed in who knows how long, and of greasy food that's more oil than it is vegetable. they saw people with devastating diseases that could have such a better life, such a different life, if they lived somewhere else - somewhere that was developed enough and valued ALL life enough to offer proper equipment and help to those in need. they slept on beds that probably made their backs ache, smiled through exhausting 10-14 hour days, and never complained. ever. and they also saw the joys that i get to experience over here. they got to know the local therapy staff at the hospital - how unique these young therapists are, how eager and teachable, kind, gentle, loving, and fun they are. they saw parents' eyes light up with hope over their children with cerebral palsy walking (with the support of AFOs), a non-verbal little girl expressing choices and therefore empowerment (with the assistance of a talk board), a man with severe aphasia spontaneously speaking words for the first time since his stroke a year ago (to fill in the blanks in prompted sentences), and a 3 year old little boy who may now have the opportunity to go to school if he regains function in his affected side (through constraint induced therapy). i was more than just grateful for the professionalism, the life, and the light that these ladies brought here - i was inspired - to keep pressing on.
my top ten highlights that came quickly to mind (which means there are probably more). in completely random order:
10. julie's text of "back that thang up" which she wrote to me a mere 10 minutes after saying they were finally boarding the plane in houston after a day of delays. the aforementioned "backing up" was because the plane had once again encountered mechanical problems and they would, in fact, not be boarding for several more hours.
9. cheri and carmen's joy over eating spaghetti at a westerner's house their 2nd to last evening here. chinese food was NOT a high for them on this trip.
8. when our driver moo-ed like a cow and stuck his hands on his head like horns to tell macey that the mystery meat we were eating was beef.
7. the guy therapists twittering like junior high girls in mortified embarassment over us asking them to take their shirts off so that we could demonstrate some kinesiotaping methods on them. guys here walk through the streets with their shirts tucked up above their bellies ALL THE TIME if it's 75 degrees or above. what's the big difference?
6. macey's laugh. have you heard it? if not, you should find her immediately and say something funny.
5. raiding their stash of american snacks. luna bars. raw almonds. trail mix. life is good.
4. seeing how pumped my staff were when they found out that carmen was a cheerleader and wanted to teach them the hog call. the youngest guy therapist even rushed over to the table to grab the pom-pom that we had just been using to practice PECS book methods. he shook that thing and "woooooo-ed" like a champ.
3. the fact that, now after learning articulation methods from cheri, my entire staff can say "TH-ank you" instead of "S-ank you"
2. julie, wearing her sweater on her head, delicately walking on the curb while grabbing tiny tree branches for balance to avoid getting soggy shoes in the flooded hospital driveway.
1. reading the encouragement cards that people at Children's Therapy TEAM wrote me. i cannot believe that people took the time to do that. i've read 1-2 a day over the past several days - spacing them out to make them last longer. and i've smiled, i've laughed, i've cried, and i've been reminded that i'm not forgotten. thanks for that ladies. it meant the world to me.
More culture fun! Did you know that Tibetans have a tendency to stick out their tongue when they're embarrassed, when they're excited, or when they're nervous? Well, we now do. While evaluating a sweet Tibetan grandpa, Amanda might have had to tell Cheri that his tongue sticking-out issues were cultural and not a disorder. In fact, it meant he liked us very much. Perhaps being evaluated by 3 American women was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream. But we'll never know, not only because his stroke had made him a little mumbly, but also because he could mostly only speak Tibetan, which Amanda does not.
When introducing how to use a Big Mack switch, Carmen first explained how to record a spoken message. She explained that the message often is used to gain a person's attention; for example, "Come here please." Amanda then prompted one of her male therapists to think of a message so they could practice recording using the switch. Amanda hit the button to turn on the recording, he spoke the message, and everyone but Cheri and Carmen were falling on the floor laughing. When we finally got a translation, we found that his message was very attention-gaining. "I think you're hot... Is it ok that I pursue you?" Later that afternoon, it came back around, when during our final teaching session, he was asked to go help a young quadriplegic girl transfer from her bed to her wheelchair. He asked Amanda if he could quickly leave the class, and she said, "Sure, no problem. Would you like to take the switch with you?" At first he was puzzled and asked, "Why would I need that?" To which she replied, "Just in case you needed to ask the girl out on a date.... You could get permission to pursue her."
The week ended with a flurried picture-taking session after the staff gave us beautiful gifts of Pashmina scarves and Tibetan hand-painted wall hangings. Hugs all around, and a bittersweet last walk from the hospital.
Get ready for it.... Are you ready? Amanda's OT/PT (and now ST) staff were taught the Hog Call! Yes, one little corner of China is now calling the hogs - Chinese style... "Woo pig soey, Wazough-back!" And yes, we have a video!
Stay tuned! A surprise guest blogger will be joining us tomorrow.
Today was filled with more patients and teaching. The highlight of the day was implementing behavior modification with a little 3 year old boy. For a full hour, Carmen wrestled him, enticing him with fun toys but not rewarding the crying. He literally cried the whole time, reaching toward the door because his parents had left the room. This little guy knows how to work the "system". Just picture a little guy barely able to walk, picking up his sucker, drink, and dad's iPad, and trying to get to the door. "I'm getting outta here - this American lady is calling my bluff - NOT cool!" Oh my goodness! This little guy is a smart cookie! It was a good lesson for the staff on calm persistence.
The staff has totally taken the new concept of speech-language therapy and RUN with it. Today they did an evaluation on an adult stroke patient after just learning the techniques yesterday. Behavior modification was introduced just yesterday, and one of the staff members explained some techniques very thoroughly with the parent of the 3 year old cryer today. They are amazing rock stars!