Peru 2018: Cusco Wrap-Up

During our first week in Cusco, we had the opportunity to serve in two different locations. On Thursday and Friday of the project, we set up tents, plinth tables, a dentist office, and a lab in two small court yards outside of a small local church in an underserved community in Cusco. The pastor of this church, Edgar, expressed so much gratitude for having us there in his community. It was amazing to hear his testimony of how long he has prayed for a United States medical project to come serve his community. They even built bathrooms just for the project! Robbie and I will never understand just how much of an impact the project made on this congregation. 

During the first day at the court yard, we were able to treat a wide variety of patients. We saw multiple children who needed checked for hip dysplasia (a skill I am now happy to have for my upcoming pediatric clinical rotation). The mothers of these children were so grateful for the interventions we gave, the braces we recommended, and the prayers we offered for their children that they shed tears and thanked us with multiple hugs and kisses.  We also saw a twelve year old boy born with facial paralysis. After further investigation, we considered the possibility of Mobious Syndrome as his main diagnosis. While our supervising PT, Manuela, consulted a dentist for his oral alignment, we were able to connect with this boy by playing thumb wars. It’s amazing how two people who do not speak the same language can connect and enjoy each other’s company through a simple game. Treating this boy was a unique opportunity where we were able to practice our oral manual techniques as well as educating his mother on the use of tape to improve his facial alignment and to close his eyes when he sleeps at night. The boy expressed to us that he is bullied at school because of his diagnosis, which breaks our hearts. Our prayer for him is that he will do well with the treatment recommended and that he will be accepted by his peers at school despite his physical differences. 

In the afternoon we received a mother-daughter pair that had a laundry list of aches and pains. This presented us with a challenge because we were unable to treat everything, so we asked them to identify what they would most like to work on. For the mother, it was her low back pain, which we have seen much of during our first two days. The daughter was a bit more complicated. She sustained a fibulae fracture years ago is was still experiencing pain with walking long distances. We did the best we could for both, and our session ended with a dance lesson from the mother, who was in her late seventies. It was so moving to see their smiles of gratitude after we treated and prayed for them, and it was amazing to see that although they both experience pain, they still are able to have fun and do things they enjoy.

Our last day in Cusco was spent at an orphanage for children with physical and cognitive disabilities. Robbie and I both expected the worst while traveling to this orphanage; pictures of children with dirty clothes and not enough food filled our minds. But we were shocked when we arrived. The building is almost brand new, three stories, with wonderful facilities for the children to receive any treatment they may need. The orphanage is set up to house sixteen children and currently houses twelve. It is ran by Peruvian women and a missionary family from the States. While in the orphanage, we were able to work with a four-year-old with ataxic cerebral palsy. He was such a joy to spend time with, always smiling, laughing, and offering the biggest hugs I’ve ever received from such a little person. He was still able to walk on his own, but falls often and showed weakness in his gluteal and spinal muscles. To aid in his walking and the alignment of his feet, we were able to fit him with a pair of ankle-foot orthotics. It was incredible to see how they changed the way he moved. The Batman pictures on the orthotics was an added bonus for him.  

Now, as we leave Cusco behind, we hope we were able to change the lives of the patients we treated because they impacted us in a way they will never fathom. We pray they saw the Light of Christ in us as they consoled in us. But most of all, we hope that these little communities in Cusco will never be the same because of the work Christ did through us. 

-Amber 

Peru 2018: The Highlands

August 6-7

It's the first day working in the clinic! We have traveled about an hour out of Cusco to an area known as the Highlands. The Highlands suffer from high levels of poverty and little medical attention is provided. Upon arriving, we set up pop-up tents on the second floor of a bus station that consisted of PT, OT, dental, triage, pharmacy, and medical care.

 Our first experience working with these patients came right away as we were told to educate the patients waiting in line to be seen on proper body mechanics for lifting and cervical stretches. Proper body mechanics is a necessity because these patients are always working in fields or in the house remaining in a flexed posture for the whole day. I found it interesting that the consensus among them was that they had kidney issues causing their low back pain instead of considering musculoskeletal pain, which is where we came in. 

Education, pain relief, and muscle lengthening/strengthening were all crucial in treating the patients with low back pain. On top of this, praying with each patient provided a spiritual component that many needed at this time. I was so moved by the way they responded to our care. Instead of frustration, pity, and hopelessness they were so gracious, warming, and remained true to their faith, highlighting the cultural nature of people in Peru. 

One patient that came to us told her story of how she cannot work in the field due to her pain, which led to her having no money and living off of the small food her field was providing. She started tearing up and was visibly upset. After comforting her and assuring her that we would put our all into getting her back to working with less pain you could feel the connection being made. By the end, she was in less pain, smiling, and was optimistic about her outlook. Moments like these are what I will take away from the 2 days we spent in the Highlands, treating some of the most amazing people I have ever encountered.

-Robbie

Stay tuned for Amber’s take on our fourth and fifth days treating patients on the outskirts of Cusco! Again, we appreciate everyone’s prayers and support as we enter into our second week in Arequipa! 

Peru 2018: Good Things

Whoever said “good things come to those who wait” may have been incorrect. I think a more suitable phrase would be “good things come to those who travel with purpose.” This is one of the many things we have already learned during our first few days in Peru, but we’ll get to that later. 

Meet the Crew

Amber: Amber is a third year student physical therapist from Hyndman, PA with a passion for the pediatric population. She believes physical therapy can not only aid in healing the body, but also the mind and soul if the right patient-therapist connections are made. She recognizes the importance of physical, mental, and spiritual health, and that is why she longs to share the Love of God with everyone who will listen. She hopes to work in out patient pediatrics after graduation in 2019 and then transition into early intervention once she gains more experience. From this medical mission, Amber would like to learn how to communicate with more than just her words, through the use of tactile cues, body language, and demonstration. She also hopes to learn more ways to be creative and resourceful as a physical therapist so she can use these skills to care for her future patients. Learning a little Spanish along the way is a huge bonus too! 

Robbie: Robbie is a third year PT student from Slippery Rock University. He plans to help the geriatric population upon graduation. Robbie understands that treating the physical ailments of a diagnosis can only help so much and it takes an emotional and spiritual connection to treat the whole person. Having a passion for what you do leads to the greatest results and with PT he feels he is delving into a career with that passion. This trip is also about understanding a culture that is the polar opposite of the one we know back home and observing how these people maintain their faith in times that most people will never experience in the United States. Oh... and the driving is much different. 

MMI Staff: Throughout the two weeks we will be working with a ton of passionate Peruvians who partner with MMI to treat patients and also share the Gospel with them. We will be spending most of our time with Manuela, a physical therapist from Lima, Peru. She has been practicing PT for seven years and specializes in the pediatric population, although she is incredibly knowledgeable in treating adults and geriatrics as well. 

An Overview

The planning of our medical mission trip was filled with hiccups and bumps in the road, but we made it! We are so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to practice physical therapy in a different country with a language barrier that forces us to think in a different way and be creative. Our first week will be spent in Cusco, Peru (after a day and a half of four very long, very crazy flights). The first two days we will be treating the adult population in a rural area where there are high poverty rates and the locals most often cannot afford the proper medical attention. Most of the patients are farmers, workers, or mothers with low back pain or traumatic injuries that lead to their pain. Wednesday we will be taking a break from the clinic, which is set up on the second floor of the local bus station outside the city of Cusco. During our break, we will travel by train to see Machu Picchu, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World! We are so excited to see this piece of Peruvian history. Thursday and Friday we will work with Manuela in an orphanage in Cusco, where we will treat children with multiple different deficits and diagnoses. Then we travel back to Arequipa, Peru for our second week when we will work with children with neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida. After week two is complete, we will pack up and return to the states with new knowledge, new skills, and a new outlook on life and God’s people. 

If you had any part in supporting Amber and Robbie on this trip through donations or prayers, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We could not be having this experience without you! 

Until next time,

Amber and Robbie