Guatemala – Day 3

We got an early start this morning, and headed straight to the village where Mama Carmen’s farm is located. Our TEAM went there last year and worked with a few kids that can’t afford to go into the city for assistance. We were able to follow up with every child from last year, and it was so great to see the progress they have made in just 9 months.

The first child we saw was a girl named Keyla. Her mom was unable to meet with the TEAM last year, however this year she was able to report her concerns to us and we were able to better serve Keyla’s needs. One of her main concerns was Keyla’s trunk strength, so we were able to give her a therapy ball and strengthening exercises. We were able to give her more supportive shoes as well. Keyla’s mom was eager to talk about her education and get some ideas on how to improve her reading comprehension. Keyla is in the third grade and attends school down the street from her house. She’s very bright, and wanted to read orally to Carol. It was so great to see her light up as she went through the books in her backpack and described each one with pride. Carol also enjoyed talking with Keyla’s mom and was able to relate on a personal level as she, too, has a child with special needs.

Next we followed up with a family that was initially skeptical of the TEAM’s assistance last year. This village is way out in the countryside with some indigenous peoples, and they don’t see very many foreigners. We are encouraged that she agreed to let us see her son, Benicio, again this year. We were able to provide him with a hand split, new shoes, and oral motor exercises to improve lip closure. He actually still had his shoes from last year but, as his mom explained, he only likes to wear them on the weekends because he’s afraid of getting them dirty during the week. Needless to say, he was SOOO excited that we were giving him new shoes again this year that he can wear during the week.

After that, we went to follow up with another boy named Wilder. We know you’re not supposed to have favorites…but we just can’t help ourselves with this sweet little guy… His charming smile and sweet personality make him immediately lovable. Last year he wasn’t walking on his own, and the TEAM was able to leave a walker for him. So you can imagine our surprise when today he walked out to greet us completely on his own, without any assistance! It was a pretty awesome moment. Because of his significant improvement, we decided to provide him with custom orthotics for more stability, so Charity and Kelly casted him. Wilder’s mom expressed that she is hesitant to send him to school because she is scared of what the other children will think of him, and she asked if we could provide any sort of materials or tools to teach Wilder how to read at home. Carol made alphabet cards to help with phonetic sounds and letter recognition for reading. We hope to send him more materials once we’re back in the states that will help with reading and math.

The last child we saw at the village was a little girl named Cindy who walked with a bad limp. Her family hopes to send her to an orthopedist soon, but in the meantime we were able to provide her with new shoes and a soft lift, as well as exercises for strengthening.

We were so humbled by each family today, and how grateful the parents were for our assistance. We were equally as grateful for their hospitality and kindness.

On our way back to the hotel, we were able to stop by Mama Carmen’s and follow up on some equipment needs for Cesar. We were able to improve Cesar’s posture in his wheelchair by moving supports and adding a foot rest. This sounds simple, but required the use of power tools, several hands and lots of patience. We were offered lots of assistance from people of all ages, particularly several little curious ones.

We ended the day on a high note using a walker for Cesar that we modified with pieces from other equipment. It was so neat to see the others kids excitement and joy for him, saying, “Cesar is walking!!!”

Today completely exceeded all expectations, and got our wheels turning on how we can continue to help more families on future trips.

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