Hola Familas y amigo(a)s,
Today the Sensory team went to Marina Guirola, a small Catholic orphanage with 17 children in Guatemala City. Compared with our previous two sites, the children at this facility had much higher needs in terms of motor, feeding, and sensory needs/issues (almost all 17 children were in a wheelchair). While the size of the facility was small and the gyms had limited equipment, the caring staff and wonderful personalities of the children was evident, making this day one of our favorites in the clinics. The team split into 3 smaller groups once we arrived and each group saw 2-4 children. We also ate lunch with the children to address feeding concerns. One particular child needed assistance for positioning, jaw, and tongue exercises in order to promote more independence with feeding.
The highlight of the day was working with a 25 year old man named Gustavo, who has been living at the orphanage for several years. He has athetoid cerebral palsy, causing the majority of his movements to be uncoordinated and jerky. He is also non-verbal, but very intelligent and fully aware of his environment. He uses a power wheelchair and has a head-control system to maneuver it. Despite all of his obstacles, Gustavo is a delightful and charming young man who was full of personality. He was even blowing kisses to some of us as we left! Kelly (therapist) and Mabel (student) worked with him in the morning on adapting his head pointer for typing and made him hand grips to prevent skin breakdown in his palms. In the afternoon, Joan, Meridith, Kelly, Melissa, and Hailey all worked together to get Gustavo standing…and what a feat that was! Once his straps on the wheelchair were removed, Gusatvo’s movements became challenging (he us unable to control his extremities, which then often kick, hit, or flail), which is why 5 adults were needed to complete this task! Be sure to check out the pictures to see Gustavo’s wonderful smile and recognize why it was our favorite moment of the trip!
We ended the day by driving to the Guatemala City mall to eat dinner at Pollo Compenero, which as Steve calls it, the “McDonald’s of Guatemala and a must have” while here. It was quite delicious and even though I (Meridith) was denied access to play in the ball pit and ride the train in the mall, we would all recommend it.
Tomorrow will be our last day in the clinics. We will be heading to Anini (where the wheelchair team was today) and to Steve and Cheryl’s house (to work with some of the 50 children in their orphanage) for our final day clinics. We can’t wait to continue working and learning from the children, their caretakers, and families.
Fun Story:
The team ate poolside. No joke.
Adios chicos,
Meridith (terapista) and Mark (Dean)
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