Final Farewell

We spent our last morning at the clinic seeing as many patients as possible and repairing wheelchairs for some children at a nearby orphanage.  Some of us had some interesting patient experiences, and some of us had some interesting/frustrating experiences with repairing wheelchairs.  There was a set of 7 wheelchairs that were in vast need of repair.  We got 6 of the 7 completely fixed, but several required taking apart the entire frame and rebuilding them.  Nate Fry, in particular, spent 4.5 hours repairing one wheelchair (but thankfully the wheelchair turned out just fine and is now able to be used by a needy child)!

 Speaking of interesting patient cases…today, me (Nora) and Tajel (a licensed PT) had two unique situations.  First, we treated an elderly gentlemen who suffered from uncontrtolled diabetes –among many other complications.  Upon examination we discovered he had textbook diabetes neuropathy.  For any of you who do not know what that is, it often presents as “pins and needles” sensations in just their hands and feet (like stockings and gloves).  He was under the impression that he maintained a proper diet and even told us of a local remedy to keep his blood sugar down.  Believe it or not, he stated that he would chop up SUGAR canes, throw them in boiling water, and then drink the water.  Needless to say we were shocked about this “remedy”.  This is where patient education is essential!  As many of us know, sugar is sugar.  Basically, he was drinking sugar water to try and keep his blood sugar down.  In the end, we spent a good amount of time educating him how to check his feet daily (since he had no protective sensation, he could hurt his foot and not know it), and how a proper diet for a diabetic did not include sugar cane water :-) 

The second case we encountered involved a woman who had fallen 5 years prior causing a fracture or break in her butt bone (coccyx if you’re curious).  She continued to suffer from chronic pain in the buttocks region ever since the fall.  She admitted she never saw her doctor, but actually had a procedure done that supposedly helped relocate the bone.  According to a translator this procedure is actually fairly common in Peru but once we understood what she was describing…we were dumbfounded because we had never heard of such a thing.  Prepare yourselves…in order to “relocate” the bone, someone (not sure if it was a doctor) used a glass cup, filled it with an unknown amount of alcohol, lit it on fire and pressed said cup on the patients behind.  Basically the theory was it would create a vacuum to help pull the bone back into place!  That may have been the most unique piece of information I may have ever gleamed from a patient history.

After eating a quick lunch at the clinic, we cleaned up all of our treatment areas and organized wheelchairs and other supplies to send to people in need in other cities in Peru.  We said a final goodbye to all of the translators and front desk staff who were such a vital part of our team for the past 2 weeks, and headed back to the orphanage that we are staying at.

We were treated to a traditional Peruvian dance performance this evening by the children at the orphanage. They won a national competition in Peru for dancing, and we were very impressed with their dedication and talent. We have seen them practicing all week to put on a good show for us, and their practicing definitely paid off. The kids did a great job, and we especially enjoyed their traditional colorful costumes.

We are all a little sad to see our two weeks in the clinic end, but we have learned a lot from the therapists, patients, and translators in the clinic.  We have made so many memories and gained so much experience as future physical therapists, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Medical Ministry International here in Peru.

Please keep us in your prayers as we catch an overnight bus to Cusco tonight and experience the world’s longest continuous zipline tomorrow morning! We also have several other tourist activities planned for the next few days, including Machu Pichu and making our own chocolate.  We will begin our journey back home on Tuesday and arrive in the US on Wednesday afternoon, but we will keep you posted on our touring experiences until then!

God Bless,

Missy  & Nora

Verses of the Day:  

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
    be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
² Deliver me from evildoers
    and save me from those who are after my blood.

³ See how they lie in wait for me!
    Fierce men conspire against me
    for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
⁴ I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
    Arise to help me; look on my plight!

 Psalms 59:1-4