TEAMWorks Guatemala - Day 5 - Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Today just "zipped" on by with a packed morning at Hermano Pedro
before zip lining throughout the mountains of Guatemala

Cassie and Katie were asked to assess a young man who was in another

area of Hermano Pedro. This young man had a traumatic brain injury

with fluctuating tone. Katie and Cassie fit him for a hand splint
which, with Leo's help, turned into a wheelchair adjustment. After
getting him fixed up, some of the therapists from HP asked if Katie
and Cassie could assess several of the other boys for splints. They
spent time showing one of the therapist's how to make splints out of
pool noodles. The therapist was very receptive to everything they
showed her. Today was such a blessing because this was the first time
TEAMworks had been invited to this particular section of Hermano
Pedro.

Cassie, Katie, and Sophie had the opportunity to treat a young boy
named Denis Frank who had sensory concerns in the PT treatment room.
They utilized the treatment ball, chewy tubes, and a compression vest
to provide him with the sensory input he was seeking. Ashley was the
duck tape and Velcro queen of modifications, specifically helping
Cassie modify a compression vest for Denis! He let us know that he
liked it by his huge sighs of satisfaction!

Alyssa was busy helping Craig throughout the morning modifying
wheelchairs for several kiddos, accomplishing a much better fit and
position. Craig worked so hard throughout the morning to modify
wheelchairs; we often interrupted what he was doing to ask for
suggestions on how to modify a wheelchair for another kid, making
things a bit crazy! Sophie and Cassie teamed up and went around the
room helping to re-position kids in their chairs as well.

The PTs asked Amber to check on braces and shoes delivered both last
year and yesterday to assess the fitting for each child. She was able
to modify and make changes as needed. Leo then asked her to join the
PT staff in their therapy room. She was able to treat a precious 6
year old, named Tomas, with a cerebral palsy diagnosis. She was able
to look through his chart, goals, and plan of care. Leo and Paige also
got in the treatment, ending with him nearly falling asleep during
stretching. What a sweetheart!

Overall, we repositioned kiddos and made minor wheelchair
modifications to more than 10 chairs! We were also able provide
education to therapists about positioning.

After Hermano Pedro, we made a quick stop at a local school for
children with disabilities named Brillo de Sol. We met a sweet little
boy with cerebral palsy. We were able fit him for a wheelchair and
provide him with braces and shoes. The OTs and Tio Juan got creative
and made a hand splint out of leftover material from a compression
vest. We were so excited to meet new faces at a new place; they even
have the same logo as us! ☀️

Leo took the Guat Squad to an amazing restaurant with another
beautiful view. This restaurant was in a park which showcased local
artists. As we were walking through the park Paige noticed a zip line
course. It didn't take much discussion to decide we had to do it! What
fun it was! No one had any idea when we woke up this morning that we
would have the opportunity to zip line through such a beautiful
country. It was definitely a wonderful experience, and we were glad to
share that experience with each other.

Once we had finished our great zip line adventure we drove back to
Anita's in Guatemala City to prepare for tomorrow at Anini.

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