This afternoon the local PT school (La Universidad Mariano Galvez) invited us to come and give a few guest lectures. Gwen, Judy, and Susan gave a lecture on the Interdisciplinary Treatment Approach and how occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech pathology work together hand in hand. After the lecture a couple of the university students commented that in their clinical sites there is no corroboration between the teams. They both commented on how looking forward to being able to make a difference in their own clinics upon graduation. Great to see forward thinking!
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Monday March 9, 2009 – Our first full day…and it definitely was full! We were put into smaller groups, and were very busy! One group went to the Universidad Mariano Gavelz, which is the university for the physical therapy students. They were given a tour of the school led by its director, and were able to listen to a presentation led one of the students at the university. The school also has a clinic, and hopefully a group will be able to see patients sometime during the trip.
The other members of the team were at the Children’s Hospital. They were all given a tour of the facility led by the director of the rehabilitation area of the hospital. The Belmont OT and PT students observed treatment by the hospital staff and OT and PT students. The clinicians assisted with some treatments; one of the PTs on our team gave a presentation on NDT, a specific treatment technique. This year we have our first speech therapist on the team; she also observed the therapists and assisted with treating the children and parent education.
This year we had the awesome opportunity to volunteer at The Lord’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen that serves approximately 400 people in a two hour period each day. Some served food, others washed dishes, wiped tables, and cleaned the facility after dinner.
Even though our days will be packed, we know it will be worthwhile at the end of the week. Adios!
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We arrived safe and sound in Guatemala! The trip was long, but fun as we got to know each other a little better on the plane. We are staying at the Nazarene Center in Guatemala City. Our accommodations are very nice and clean. Even though we were tired, we made time to reflect on the trip and set our goals for the week as a group. We hope to be of service to the people of Guatemala and to do good works for the community. We want to thank everyone who has prayed for us and helped us to get here.
Thank you, and lots of love!