Most of our day was spent in the clinic helping our many patients by teaching exercises and providing wheelchairs, canes, & other equipment to those who needed it. Many of us had some specific experiences with patients that were especially memorable.
There was one patient who was 20 months old who had Down Syndrome. She needed heart surgery, and probably wouldn’t survive long without it. Her mom doesn’t have enough money to get the surgery done, and they live in a very remote area without access to medical services. MMI is going to try to work with an organization to get surgery for this little girl at little to no cost. Please pray that this situation will be worked out so that this patient can have the opportunity to get the surgery she needs.
Another patient was a 12 year old boy with Spina Bifida. Amazingly, he is still able to walk (if you don’t know about Spina Bifida, children at age 12 usually have already lost the ability to walk). He needed new orthotics (braces) so that he could continue walking because his old were not fitting correctly & causing wounds on his feet. We did not have any orthotics to hand out to him that would fit him, so we made casts (molds) of his feet to send back to the US so that he can get custom-made orthotics (made specifically for his feet).
After we finished at the clinic today, we explored the Plaza de Armas, or the “downtown”. Several of us learned how to bargain for our purchases and that we should always shop directly beside one of our friends who speaks Spanish. We also enjoyed hearing stories from our fellow team members who returned from Juliaca today.
Overall, we had a busy day filled with a lot of work but a lot of fun! We are continuing to learn a lot about physical therapy & about the country & people of Peru. We appreciate everyone who is praying for us & our patients, & we ask that you continue to do so as our first week in the clinic comes to a close and we prepare for our weekend trip Colca Canyon.
No comments:
Post a Comment