I was able to watch the sunrise in the hammock today before another group of five did yoga on the dock. I need to make this apart of my morning routine this summer!
Breakfast was mini quiche with black beans, plantains, and tortillas. It had such a nice flavor and the sauces really added to the home cooking.
The whole group boarded the boat and had another busy morning in Livingston. The groups of 4 split off and started treating right when we put our bags down. Four patients were already waiting for us when we got to the clinic. The two groups I worked with did a fantastic job today. They were able to make even larger gains with each follow up patient and did a great job educating Ronnie, the clinic physiotherapist, on the new techniques. They also planned how they were going to make videos and handouts of the skills for Ronnie.
I was most impressed with how well they educated the patients on follow through once we were gone, home program review, and instilling confidence in each patient. This is a skill that is hard to learn and they have blown me away.
Another group worked very hard on adapting a pair of AFOs that were donated for one of the students. They worked so hard modifying and making them perfect. In the end she had a perfect fit, a new pair of shoes, and a much improved gait pattern.
One patient that stuck out the most for me today was an elderly lady who was 2 years post a stroke that affected the left side of her body. She was only able to extend her elbow to just past 80 degrees with pain. After some manual therapy and muscle activation using cues and patterning she was able to extend 65 more degrees with no pain. She was the last patient and we only had 20 minutes before we had to leave. The group did a great job not rushing and working on her largest impairments and making a huge impact.
After scarfing down PB and J sandwiches we got back on the boat and made our way back to the hospital for our afternoon treatments.
I made sure to not leave until I got 2 bottles of the habanero hot sauce that I loved.
When we arrived at the hospital we were greeted by all of the same patients from yesterday as well as more patients who heard about the group. The students were excited to work with the same patients and got right into it when we got inside. Many of the patients were doing well and the best part of the time was working with the 3 students and Ta-Ta the clinic director. The combination of treating with the students and the students taking more initiative was great. With them doing more I was able to teach the Guatemalan students and clinicians more. The more we can educate the more patients we can impact. They really enjoyed the manual therapy techniques and seemed to catch on quickly to the skills.
In the inpatient section of the hospital my group was able to see the young boy again. He will be leaving for Guatemala City tonight at 1 am so luckily we got to see him again.
He was doing better and reported no pain since yesterday which made us really happy. He was scared about his trip to the city so we tried to lift his spirits the whole visit. After him my group evaluated a homeless gentleman who was in for a GI infection and severe neuropathy from uncontrolled diabetes. Being homeless he does not have the medications or care to manage his disease.
As we were heading out for the day Kim and I walked by a room and saw a patients seizing. Once he was under control we were able to assist with transferring the patient. It was a scary sight but showed the reality of how emergency situations are handled.
After a long day we got to enjoy the company of Ta-Ta, Roonie, and the other therapists and Pollo Campero. The chicken was amazing and we had some great laughs with the therapists we have been working alongside all week.
The night boat ride was very peaceful but by the time we got home we were all ready for bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment