The ending of an amazing trip!

Friday evening we had to say goodbye to our friends who were only here for the first week, it was a sad night; however, Kaitlin and Liz, a PT from Cincinnati joined our team Saturday morning! One of our project leaders, Pastor Asdrubal, planned a lovely day for us touring the city of Lima. We started the day at Pachacamac, touring more Inca ruins. The day continued by making stops at various landmarks throughout the city. Pastor's in-laws cooked us a delicious Peruvian lunch. We even made a stop at the beach and the market for some more shopping! 

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in a bit before going to an English-speaking church. The members were extremely welcoming and invited us to coffee and tea before the service. After, we were invited to lunch at Kim and Pete's house, they are close friends of our project leader, Jodee. They made us delicious tacos and we enjoyed the afternoon playing games with them and their sons, Cameron and Asher. Late afternoon, we made the move to our place for the final week, which is in northern Lima. 

Throughout this week we treated at 3 different sites. Our eyes were opened to God's plan and how he knows what will happen long before we do. During last year's projects, measurements were taken on patients in need of wheelchairs. Throughout the year, the MMI team strives to find wheelchairs appropriate for the patients in need. We were amazed to see that some patients from last year did not show up, but their wheelchairs became a blessing to new patients in need of chairs. 

Unfortunately, majority of the team was struck with a stomach bug in our last week. Luckily, Liz served as our pharmacist throughout the week and took care of all of our needs. 

Last evening, we had to say our goodbyes. It was a sad night. Even though we only spent 2 weeks with this group, it feels as though we've known each other for a much longer time. We all have shared so many experiences that have truly bonded us together. 

We are currently in the Houston airport. Our next flight leaves for Chicago at 2:25 PM. We will have a 4 hour layover in Chicago and then will fly to Pittsburgh! We are scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh at 11:49 PM! 

Although we are exhausted, we are beyond excited to be back in the states and can't wait to see our loved ones! Thank you for following our blog and we do apologize that posts were not made more often; wifi was hard to come by in Peru! 

God bless,

Alyssa Cirillo 

First Week Stories!

 

Pictured above is a 10 year old little boy we had the joy of working with. He was unable to move his arms and legs but that didn't stop this little trooper from playing like any other kid his age.  He was able to adapt a game of catch by passing the ball back and forth to Emily Horst using only his head. He was also able to color and write our names by putting the colored pencils in his mouth; way harder than you'd think! -Rachel

Featured below is a 17 year old boy who presented with symptoms similar to Charcot Marie Tooth Disease, which is a hereditary disorder that damages the nerves in the arms and legs. He stated his main goal was to walk better and to decrease his pain while walking.  We were able to provide him with two canes to help him walk better. He was nervous about trying them out at first, but was very surprised to realize how much better he was able to walk without pain.  Below is a before and after video to show the improvements in his walking! -Jessica 

First week in the Clinic!

We have come to the conclusion of our first week of treatment in Peru! The first 3 days were spent at Shalom, a clinic housed in an Anglican Church. Shalom regularly offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Thursday and Friday, we treated at an orphanage for children with special needs. The group of students who were here for just one week are beginning their journey home now and Kaitlin is making her way to Peru.
-Jessica

Pictures from our first few days in Peru!

Exploring Peru!

We have come to the end of our exploring of Peru and are preparing for our time treating the people of Lima, Peru! We are soaking up the very limited wifi that we have in the nunnery that we are blessed to stay at! Please forgive us for the lack of blog posts, wifi has been hard to come by. Over the past couple of days, we have done quite a bit of traveling!

We spent our first official day in Peru exploring Cusco. Not only did some of us indulge in Peruvian cuisine, but we also did some shopping in the local markets.

Our second day was spent exploring Southern Valley. We were on a 4-hour bus tour, stopping at 3 different sites throughout the tour, exploring Incan ruins. It was intriguing to learn of the history; it was also difficult to fathom the length of time that the walls and structures built by the Incans have been standing tall.

On our third day, we made our way to Machu Picchu!! We caught an early morning train (this being most of our first experiences on a train) from Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. After arriving, we had to wait in an extremely long line to catch a bus that took us to the starting point of our hike. The line was so long that we were afraid we would not make it in time for our hike...but we are so thankful we did!! We hiked Huayna Picchu, which was a challenging yet a beyond rewarding experience. It took approximately an hour and a half to climb 2,667.58 meters above sea level (m.s.n.m).  We took countless pictures that even though beautiful, could never do the views justice. After our descent, we had a quick lunch and then began a 2-hour tour of the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. We learned that the ruins were discovered accidentally and were abandoned when the Incan people caught word that the Spaniards were approaching their land. We also witnessed 2 proposals while there!

Saturday morning we had the opportunity to explore the markets in Cusco before being driven back to the airport to fly to Lima. We were thrilled to have witnessed a parade that filled the streets celebrating Santa Rosa. The costumes were colorful and elaborate; the music was loud and joyful. When we arrived in Lima, we were picked up at the airport by Erin, a PT who has lived in Lima for 4 years working for MMI. When we arrived at the nunnery that we will be staying at for the first week, we were taken to our bungalows. Shortly after, we were served a delicious dinner.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast and met the 4 students from Arcadia University that we will be working with for the 2 weeks. We then traveled to Shalom for a church service and to later set up the facility for our first 3 days of treatment. It was a long day filled with organizing donated equipment and toys, but it helped build our excitement for our first day of treatment.

Throughout this week, different students will be posting on the blog about their experiences in the clinic. We are blessed to be serving God and the people of Peru. Our mentors are thoughtful, helpful, and admirable. We are grateful to have the opportunity to grow spiritually, personally, and professionally.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Alyssa Cirillo

Our journey has begun!

Hello friends & family!!

We are currently waiting in the Chicacgo-O'Hare International Airport for our next flight to Houston-Bush Intercontinental Airport. We have a 5-hour layover in Chicago and will have a 3-hour layover in Houston before leaving the states for Peru!! We will arrive in Peru at 11:05 PM! Upon arrival, we will make our way to a hotel where we will sleep for approximately 3 hours (we are & will be running on very little sleep) before taking a flight from Lima to Cusco. Once we arrive in Cusco on Wednesday, we have the entire day to explore our beautiful surroundings! Thursday, we will spend time in Sacred Valley and Friday we will embark on a 3-hour hike of the breathtaking Machu Picchu. Saturday, we will fly back to Lima and prepare the clinic for our first week of treatment.

It is hard to believe that the time has finally come to make our way to Peru! We are thrilled to arrive and to then have a few days to sightsee and experience new things in Peru, prior to working in the clinic.

Thank you, as always, for your thoughts and prayers!

Alyssa Cirillo

Greetings from the 2016 Peru Team!

Hello all!

It is with great excitement that I introduce the 11 Slippery Rock DPT students who will be traveling to Peru this August! The students include:

Carolyn Britton
Nicole Cargill
Jessica Ceremuga
Alyssa Cirillo
Katy Decker
Emily Horst
Kyle LeBarron
Ellie Massey
Rachel Novakovich
Kaitlin Wiegmann
Kelsey Weimer

We will be working under Medical Ministry International, Canada (MMI Canada) beginning August 6th until August 20th in Lima, Peru. There will be five students in Lima for the entire 2 weeks, including Carolyn, Nicole, Alyssa, Katy, and Emily. During the first week, Jessica, Kyle, Ellie, Rachel, and Kelsey will be in Lima, and when they travel home, Kaitlin will join the team for the second week.

Our group is beyond excited to work with such an inspiring organization, MMI Canada, and to apply all that we have learned in the classroom to care and treat the people of Lima, Peru.

We cannot thank our family, friends, and loved ones enough for their continued support in our fundraising and preparations for our trip! Thank you to the physical therapy program at Slippery Rock University for their support in our journey as well.

As our departure date soon approaches, we are preparing our luggage and organizing the donated equipment we have received for our travels. We are both excited and nervous for this journey. It is a strange feeling to know that we will be in an unfamiliar area, with people speaking a different language and presenting with needs that we cannot necessarily prepare for; however, with this uncertainty and nervous feeling comes great excitement. We feel blessed to meet the people of Peru; to have meaningful conversations and build relationships throughout our journey. We also find comfort in knowing that this trip is part of God's plan and that He will be with each of us every step of the way.

We welcome you to follow us in our travels and experiences through this blog! Thank you all for your continued support. We greatly appreciate your prayers in preparation for and throughout our journey! Many, many thanks!!



Alyssa Cirillo