HONDURAS UPDATE! Day 2

On day 2 at the clinic, we were much more organized, like a well oiled machine. We had the opportunity to see many more children, including several with hydrocephalus resulting from spina bifida.

 

Although most of the children that we saw had the same disorders/medical conditions that are common in Canada, the lack of available resources and the delayed medical treatment cause the same conditions to look much different and much more severe in Honduras. One of the roles that our team played was collaborating with the staff at Centro de Rehabilitacion Integral de Lempira (CRILE) as well as the parents, and educating them on ways to prevent contractured joints and to optimize the quality of life that these kids have.

A highlight of day 2 was that a local news station and a local radio station came to report on our Canada-Honduras Children’s Health Initiative (CHCHI) team, and the work that we were doing. Our team leader, Dr. Benjamin Klein, was interviewed by the news station, and had the opportunity to explain what our team’s mission is, and what work we were doing.

 

A unique case that we had on our second day was a little boy who is non-verbal, who has a history of self-abuse that we think to result from his inability to effectively communicate with those around him. Our OT, Ashley, was able to teach him a few words of sign language in the half hour or so that she spent with him, and we were able to give him a soft helmet that will help reduce injury when he has outbursts.

We also connected with a local carpenter out of Gracias, Lempira, who is using a template that we provided and tested to build wooden chairs that are easily customizable with foam inserts/straps/chest harnesses to create effective seating solutions for the kids. We managed to pack 12 of these chairs (in pieces) in our luggage, but it is great that we found someone to work with who can meet this need for the kids at CRILE.

Comments are closed.