Andy went to the rehabilitation hospital yesterday to tour and meet the staff. There are acute hospitals in the city, but Green Pastures is a NGO led rehabilitation hospital, with funding and support through the INF (International Nepal Fellowship). It was very interesting. There are two main parts to the hospital - one is for the more typical rehabilitation cases - spinal cord injuries, strokes, contractures/fractures and the like. The other part is the leprosy rehabiliation unit.
There is a PT department with 2 PTs and 2 PT assistants, and an OT department with 1 OT, 1 OT assistant, and 1 OT helper, plus an orthotics department which makes artificial arms and legs. When I was there, there was a spinal cord peer counselling group staffed by two trained support staff (both with spinal cord injuries) working with several new spinal cord patients. A bimoechanical engineer from Canada called Carol toured me and taught me a lot about the cases. In the spinal cord unit, each of the beds had two beds, one for the patient and one for the caregiver from home who had to come and take care of the patients daily needs. What was especially interesting was the leprosy rehabilitation unit, which focuses on people returning to independence after loosing limbs and/or fingers and with significant nerve damage (with resulting loss of function and sensation). While I was there, there was a cooking group being run by the OT helper - not like any group I've ever run! The leprosy patients were learning how to cook safely with impaired sensation and hand use - however, the group was held in the outdoors with people squatting over stick fires cooking up fried breads! This was at the halfway house, where the more rehabilitated patients live more independently with some support (like this OT group) as they prepare to go back home. Many of them will be returning to rural communities with little support once discharged.
There is a PT department with 2 PTs and 2 PT assistants, and an OT department with 1 OT, 1 OT assistant, and 1 OT helper, plus an orthotics department which makes artificial arms and legs. When I was there, there was a spinal cord peer counselling group staffed by two trained support staff (both with spinal cord injuries) working with several new spinal cord patients. A bimoechanical engineer from Canada called Carol toured me and taught me a lot about the cases. In the spinal cord unit, each of the beds had two beds, one for the patient and one for the caregiver from home who had to come and take care of the patients daily needs. What was especially interesting was the leprosy rehabilitation unit, which focuses on people returning to independence after loosing limbs and/or fingers and with significant nerve damage (with resulting loss of function and sensation). While I was there, there was a cooking group being run by the OT helper - not like any group I've ever run! The leprosy patients were learning how to cook safely with impaired sensation and hand use - however, the group was held in the outdoors with people squatting over stick fires cooking up fried breads! This was at the halfway house, where the more rehabilitated patients live more independently with some support (like this OT group) as they prepare to go back home. Many of them will be returning to rural communities with little support once discharged.
I also got a kick out of the OT adaptations, such as modified farming instruments along side the more usual long handled combs and the like. Oh, and as part of the retraining, the hospital has a mini-farm with cows and fields for practice to ensure they can grow food to live!I also got to learn from Carol about the special wheelchairs she is building for spinal cord injuries that allow for crossing rough uneven terrain .... Those of you in the therapy world can ask more ... for those not, I'll stop there for now!
We also were back at the orphanage for the fourth evening to complete training on the therapy recommendations for the four children. We were very fortunate that at the moment there is a health visitor volunteering there from the UK, who is very excited (and supportive) to implement these programs and pass the training on. So, we got to train her, and also the brother of the owner who is one of the staff members there. In addition, we are going back one more time to follow up. The childrens' needs are quite diverse - from a fairly specific program for one 3 1/2 year old to develop wrist movement and control after he was born onto a pavement and broke both wrists, to a very naughty 7 year old who was in extrteme need (:>) of a positive behavioral program ... we should also be out at another orphange in the next day or two......
The blind students are all going strong and we have been running student massage clinics - getting other volunteers or community members in for free massages with the students while they practise - hopefully as well as good training for the students, it will continue to promote the clinic in the area. Evan may also be doing a massage training with one of the qualified therapists for one of the spinal cord injuried staff members from the hospital, as she has been wanting to find a good massage therapist, and hasn't been able to.
Oh, and today was our day off ! So we rented bikes for the day and had a bit-more-than-expected mammoth bike ride event - firstly out to a more isolated lake called Begnas Tal, where we watched the peaceful waters surrounded by various children all wanting to practice English and have their pictures taken (Thank God for digital cameras!) - this was meant to be a short 2 hour trip (there and back) - erm, more like 4 hours with lots of sweating and sunburn.
Oh, and today was our day off ! So we rented bikes for the day and had a bit-more-than-expected mammoth bike ride event - firstly out to a more isolated lake called Begnas Tal, where we watched the peaceful waters surrounded by various children all wanting to practice English and have their pictures taken (Thank God for digital cameras!) - this was meant to be a short 2 hour trip (there and back) - erm, more like 4 hours with lots of sweating and sunburn.
Not put off, we continued with our plan, and headed out to Tashi Palkhel, the large Tibetan refugee settlement a "few" kms north of town - it actually was up hill all the way!!! The settlement was actually really really brilliant though - we wandered around for quite a while, met a local shopkeeper who chatted with us for ages (and yeah, we did buy some prayer flags!), met more kids (Tibetan ones this time! - including one who just wouldn't let Evan alone and just kept on ringing and ringing his bike bell) - but best of all was when the Buddhist monastery opened and we got to go in and sit in the montastic hall and listen to the rows of monks chanting - brilliant!!
Now we are recovering back in town - exhausted - about 7 hours of riding today!!! In hot humid weather!!!
But we do have a distraction ... a Nepali movie called 'Flashback' is being filmed and we have been watching - have seen three of the stars (1 guy, 2 girls) and think we worked out which of the female stars is the more slatternly one who we predict will be kissing before marriage and dying rapidly thereafter of 'blood cancer'! (She is the one with the long blond-ish hair and extra make-up!)
But we do have a distraction ... a Nepali movie called 'Flashback' is being filmed and we have been watching - have seen three of the stars (1 guy, 2 girls) and think we worked out which of the female stars is the more slatternly one who we predict will be kissing before marriage and dying rapidly thereafter of 'blood cancer'! (She is the one with the long blond-ish hair and extra make-up!)
It is, as they say, all good!
......
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." (Helen Keller)
who knew you would do so much to touch the lives of so many people. classroom, orphanage, locals, children...you inspire me every day!
ReplyDeletekeep having a great time. come back safe. i miss you both. xxoo