Sickcited. (Sick + Excited)

I dread to admit this, but... I MAY be coming down with a touch of whatever afflicted Ray. On top of a very annoying head cold that has me obnoxiously blowing my nose at least once every twenty minutes, and having periodic sneezing fits. Needless to say, I had to sit out this morning's visit to Casa Jackson. Also needless to say, I'm pretty sad about it, as I've got exactly one week left in Guatemala.

I spent this morning stapling and spread-sheeting for Corinne (the volunteer coordinator), and counting out 3,000 ibuprofen tablets into bags of 20 for the farmacía; an appropriate task for someone unfit for human company. As I sat in the pharmacy, trying to maintain my counting rhythm and not sneeze on any medication, the health clinic's doctor came in to get some supplies. I stumbled through my Spanish explanation of what occupational therapy is (it's not a highly publicized career in these parts; I've learned to just say that the work done is similar to that of physical therapy, and enjoy their excitement). She informed me that she had worked at a rehabilitation hospital in the past, and greatly enjoyed it. We discussed a bit about my previous job, and what I was doing at Casa Jackson. That was just about the time she tossed a wonderful opportunity into my lap...

She told me about the children that she sees in the clinic who have a variety of disabilities; many with cerebral palsy, like the two girls at Casa Jackson. She lamented the difficulty in getting adequate therapy for the children they see; private clinics are incredibly expensive. The families served at the free clinic don't have the means to secure this for their children; many are still living in a shack on a dirt floor. She explained that some children are able to go to a local school, Hermano Pedro, which serves children with special needs, but that this is not an option for all. She expressed a wish that someone could just go to the children at home and provide them with therapy, but that there simply weren't people available to do so.

Unwilling to leave this opportunity to a later chance, I informed her that my work at the hospital consisted entirely of home visits to families of children with special needs, and that if I return for the summer, I would be thrilled to visit families at home and provide services to the children with special needs served by the clinic who are unable to attend Hermano Pedro. Her eyebrows rose as she told me how wonderful that would be for the children, their families, and the clinic. We agreed to discuss it more before I return home at the end of the month.

In addition to this, I am also mulling over plans to supply Casa Jackson with more age-appropriate toys for older children (like Magaly), written instructions and (possibly!) a video regarding techniques for working with the children with special needs that are served by the center. The instructions and techniques would be incredibly basic, but would absolutely have a positive impact on the quality of life and developmental trajectory of the children in the center. Simple things such as changing a child's position every few hours; letting them sit upright, well-supported, in a chair for half an hour; or placing them on their side with a toy, instead of leaving them in their cribs in the default supine position that gives them no opportunity to develop head control or neck and upper body strength. A sort of "crash-course" in handling and positioning techniques as well as developmental stimulation for future volunteers to avail themselves of. I'm currently transferring all of this knowledge to Rafa, the nurse from Spain, so that he can train other volunteers after I leave.

My head is just all over the place and swimming with ideas I want to implement and fundraising opportunities to support them. Sometime in the very near future, I hope to have a semi-concrete plan delineating exactly what I would like to do and how I intend to do it, including costs and logistics. I'm beyond thrilled to think that this very specific daydream I've been nursing for the past six years may actually become a reality, to whatever extent possible. I realized long ago that the scale on which you accomplish something isn't always the best indicator of how helpful your accomplishment is to others; if I can successfully design and implement a small program within the framework of this larger one, and know that it truly is serving the community here and improving the quality of life for the children I'm involved with, I will be beyond pleased.