Today has been a whirlwind of a day. We started the day out by completing home visits with the PTs. We all met at the hospital in the morning and piled into the back of the ambulance to go to the homes, it was pretty cool. We split up into three different teams, one with each PT. I went with Dania and a small group of three others. The first home we went to was in a government subsidized housing area. The conditions were not great and it was extremely crowded with people. The boy we worked with had CP (it is very common here). While interviewing his mother we learned he has not been getting PT for over two years because his family can not afford it. His condition has progressed substantially and he now has contractures of his lower extremities. This was my first experience working with a patient with severe contractures and it was hard to see. We completed a treatment session while Dania and the boys family watched. We tried to share as much as we could about treatment interventions that would help his family care for him easier. It broke my heart knowing this was going to be his only PT session for a while, so we tried to make the most of our session.
We went to two other patients homes as well. The goal of each visit we made was to educate the families about how to complete home exercises and stretches. We completed a treatment session with another young patient with CP and a patient who is now in a persistent vegetative state.
They typically complete these home visits once each month. They offer this service because the patients have no way of affording PT or even getting to the rehab center. This program is so beneficial to the community, it pains me to know it is only completed once every month. The patients all require more frequent PT.
From the home visits we went to lunch then headed to the ferry. One of Dr. Dettmann’s friends Milo gives tours of the area he lives in. He is from a bordering town that is very remote. He was extremely excited to show us his home and explain his history to us. The boat ride was beautiful and we were able to see some incredible scenery. It took about 40 minutes to reach our destination and we then had to hike about a mile in the jungle to get to Milo’s home. He took us on a tour of his home and introduced us to various different vegetation. It was refreshing to see him and the few people around him living off the land and only consuming what they need. We got caught in a small rainstorm while we were there. The Amazon rain is not a joke! We saw it approaching and ran for cover. It cooled it down a lot which was nice and it made the air smell fresh and crisp.
We are heading on our Pampas tour tomorrow and I won’t have WiFi for a few days. I can’t wait to update the blog about our jungle adventures over the next two days... stay tuned!
We went to two other patients homes as well. The goal of each visit we made was to educate the families about how to complete home exercises and stretches. We completed a treatment session with another young patient with CP and a patient who is now in a persistent vegetative state.
They typically complete these home visits once each month. They offer this service because the patients have no way of affording PT or even getting to the rehab center. This program is so beneficial to the community, it pains me to know it is only completed once every month. The patients all require more frequent PT.
From the home visits we went to lunch then headed to the ferry. One of Dr. Dettmann’s friends Milo gives tours of the area he lives in. He is from a bordering town that is very remote. He was extremely excited to show us his home and explain his history to us. The boat ride was beautiful and we were able to see some incredible scenery. It took about 40 minutes to reach our destination and we then had to hike about a mile in the jungle to get to Milo’s home. He took us on a tour of his home and introduced us to various different vegetation. It was refreshing to see him and the few people around him living off the land and only consuming what they need. We got caught in a small rainstorm while we were there. The Amazon rain is not a joke! We saw it approaching and ran for cover. It cooled it down a lot which was nice and it made the air smell fresh and crisp.
We are heading on our Pampas tour tomorrow and I won’t have WiFi for a few days. I can’t wait to update the blog about our jungle adventures over the next two days... stay tuned!