TEAMWorks Guatemala - Day 4 - Monday, May 16, 2016

We spent the morning breaking out our dance moves at Hermano Pedro.
Hermano Pedro is an orphanage affiliated with a church and hospital
that houses 100+ children with special needs, many who have very
severe disabilities. They are lucky in that they employ several
occupational and physical therapists who work with the kids each day.
Upon arrival we gathered up many of the sweet kiddos and took them to
do their morning exercises and stretches while rocking out to The
Twist, Jailhouse Rock, I Will Survive, and many other classics. It was
highly entertaining and the kids, as well as us, all had a great time.
Ashley and her dance partner were the life of the party! Ashley had
her friend laughing and laughing as they danced! Once the dance party
was over it was Go Time. Each person split up to assess the children
and make simple modifications. We worked on wheelchair positioning and
modifications, providing sensory input, oral motor and feeding
techniques. Craig spent the majority of his time working on a
wheelchair for a sweet girl with severe physical disabilities, named
Brenda. While Craig was working on Brenda's chair, Alyssa and Amber
spent time providing trunk elongation and mobilization exercises.
Paige and Sophie were able to go in and watch as the kids were being
fed lunch. They noticed improvements from the last trip as now the
kids are not being laid down immediately after mealtime. Katie and
Cassie worked to find beniks for several of the kiddos there as well
as provide sensory input with several sensory toys, movement in their
chairs, and joint compressions.
After our morning at Hermano Pedro, Tio Juan "literally" drove us to
the very tip top of a mountain to a beautiful farm-to-table
restaurant. Talk about a view! After a pleasant lunch we headed back
to Hermano Pedro where most of the kids had gone down for a nap. Craig
and Leo continued with wheelchair adjustments and got Brenda's chair
completed. Her excitement was evident that she was happy to be in a
better fitting chair. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve
at Hermano Pedro and are hopeful to continue strengthening our
relationship with them. After leaving Hermano Pedro we headed to the
market to work on our haggling skills. We were all excited for our
different finds and the deals we got on them. We head back to Hermano
Pedro tomorrow where we will continue to help make improvements in
wheelchairs and hopefully continue building our relationship with the
therapists there!

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