TEAMWorks Guatemala - Monday, September 29, 2014

Everybody Dance Now!!!  (Arriba! Abajo! A derecho!, A la izquierda!)

We began today at Hermano Pedro, a hospital, residential care center, and church. They house approximately 250 residents, many of who are in wheelchairs. We were immediately taken to “dance group” where we, of course, jumped right in to help out! We were told by one of the volunteers that many of the residents were non-verbal but were very expressive with their face, and he wasn’t kidding! These kiddos lit up at just a simple touch and smiled from ear to ear when we were dancing with them. It was such a great start to our time there. After dance group we were split up. Paige was able to go to the baby room and help out with several feeding questions for parents whose children were in the baby wing and she played PT for a mom who needed help with trunk/neck strengthening. Nicole, Kelly, and Carol were sent to the pediatric wing where there were approximately 100 children in wheelchairs. This was obviously an overwhelming situation and due to time constraints and scheduling we were not able to do as much as we would have liked; however, at the last minute Nicole and Kelly were able to provide a wheelchair to a little girl who had been living at the hospital for two weeks without one. It is our impression that because she did not have a chair she was mostly bed-ridden unless a volunteer got her out of her crib to hold her. The chair fit PERFECTLY! God really provides for those in need and Nicole and Kelly were so humbled and grateful to be His hands. Carol spent time loving on as many kiddos at she could and was able to briefly go to the baby room to spend some time with them. We are truly grateful for this new relationship and are looking forward to future trips where we can build on it.

After Hermano Pedro we headed to San Lucas to a feeding center where we were able to help a boy from the village whom had cerebral palsy. Nicole was able to fit him with night stretching splints to help gain enough range for an AFO for the next trip. Kelly was able to fit a Benik and give oral sensory ideas for increased food and oral structure awareness. Paige was able to give him oral motor exercises to decrease drooling and Carol taught his mom how to better cue him to swallow. It truly was a TEAM effort! Additionally, Nicole assessed a young girl who had a significant leg length discrepancy and we are hoping to get her a lifted shoe by our next trip. The feeding center was filled with sweet children and we enjoyed playing with them before we left.

We then went to Hogar Amor del Niño’s and spoke with their director who has many connections throughout Guatemala and is willing to help us on future trips reach out to those in significant need.

We look forward to seeing where all our new connections lead us!

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