Mission: Guatemala 2007
Today we went back to the Rehab Hospital. In the morning, we had a mock evaluation session with a patient that has lived in the hospital for over two years. She is a five year old girl named Paola with cerebral palsy. First, a therapist from the Guatemalan team demonstrated the way they would perform an evaluation on a new patient. Then, Heidi and David, the third year students on the trip, gave some input into how we would do an evaluation on Paola in the United States and also gave some treatment ideas. It was a time for sharing ideas and asking questions. We were all interested to see the similarities between what we do and what they do. The Guatemalan therapists seemed to really enjoy the presentation, especially the treatment ideas and techniques.

Also, today we brought our gifts and supplies to the hospital. We brought about ten suitcases full of things such as crutches, AFOs, and toys. The therapists were very grateful for everything. The textbooks we brought were an especially big hit, as they are a rarity here. Some of the toys we personally gave to the patients we saw in the latter part of the morning, and the looks on their faces were priceless. They would smile widely, thank us, and hold the gifts close to themselves.

After lunch, three members of our team went to another part of the hospital to observe surgery. There is a team of plastic surgeons from Virginia working in the hospital this week while we are here. They were gracious enough to allow us to observe them. Today, our team members saw repairs on cleft palates and an ear reconstruction.
The rest of the group continued to see patients in the afternoon. Once again, Heidi and David took the lead, this time doing an actual evaluation on a patient who came in with back pain. She is a dance instructor for the disabled children at the hospital.

We also saw a memorable patient named Evelyn. She has a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease. Though she is six years old, she is so small that we thought she was under 2 years old. She has had several broken bones that have not been set properly. She does not walk, and her mother has to pick her up in a special way so as not to injure her. Despite her disease, Evelyn is an extremely happy child, always laughing and smiling.

Tonight was our final night with Jacqueline and Todd. They are leaving for the States early in the morning. Parker and Jeff arrived this afternoon to represent the Shalom Foundation. We spent some time telling stories about ourselves and getting to know each other. We also had a time of singing and devotion. Nenita shared some of her powerful testimony, which encouraged us all. The verse we had for the evening was from Romans 12 which talks about Paul placing his hands on people and healing them. As physical therapists, we are constantly touching people and putting our hands on them. Even though it is not exactly the same thing, there is still power in that action. During the evaluation, Pati, the Guatemalan therapist geared alot of what she did around touch. She emphasized the importance of making the child feel safe and loved, especially those children who come from situations of abuse and neglect. This importance of touch is not nearly as emphasized in the U.S. However, we feel this is something we can learn from them and hopefuly bring back home with us.
Posted by: Rebekah