Milk cans reborn

Fact: we drink powdered milk here.

Fact: powdered milk comes in cans.

Fact: therapists can make these cans do almost anything. 

Conclusion: Milk cans are très utile. So are therapists.

Remember the wooden chairs we made in therapy camp? Well here is another use we've found for our milk cans, what therapists like to call an incline board:

You can use it with one hand for stretching!!!

You can add weights inside it and push it for strengthening!!!

You can even push it with your foot!!! (plaster-filled tomato can used for counter balance not included...do not attempt while standing)

But wait, call now and we'll also throw in some genuine Galmi rocks! Place them inside the can, bend at the knees (not the hips), and lift! It's a complete workout!

In case you think I just work all the time, here's what I like to do on the weekend:
1. hang with friends

My loneliness therapy dog ☺

2. play board games
3. mooch off of people with DVD players and access to TV shows (have YOU seen season 4 of Sherlock?? I have!!!)
4. avoid cooking...which involves more mooching or lots of leftovers 😁
5. sleep in
6. lounge in my personal oasis:

it really belongs to everyone, and there's a public gate, but also my house's back door opens onto it so I just pretend it's mine

 poolside selfie with one of my pet lizards

their colors are gorgeous! I like to imagine what it would be like if he just turned into a dragon one day and let me ride him

7. go to church

8. catch up on my journaling

9. go to the local tailor. he has made me scrubs, Bible covers and other lovely things!

Today before church we also attended a biki, a traditional baby naming ceremony. This one was bittersweet because shortly after the wife discovered she was pregnant with their first child, her husband was killed in action with his troop. Their daughter is healthy and her name is Jemimah, which is the name of one of Job's daughters after his family and fortune have been restored to him (Job 42:14), and means "dove." Please pray for this widow in her grief and that she may be able to support herself and Jemimah.

This little piggy went to market...

During this past week I have taken in much more of the local flavor of  Niger and wanted to share some. On Thursday I went on the mail run to nearby Madaoua with James and Deb (we also took Kathy, our accountant, with us since the Internet was still down...shh). We saw camels and gendarmes by the roadsides as we drove for about 45 minutes northeast to Madaoua. We visited the post office and the Internet station to try to figure out what the problem was, then moved on to the grocery store and the market.

Chocolate! :) 

Since many people lack refrigerators this seller doles out single servings of mustard, mayonnaise, etc and sells by the baggie. He also has a nice selection of veggies and bottles of honey behind him.

This is a covered market complete with tailors, butchers, herbalists, and almost anything you can think of. Sadly about half the people in here are children even though school is in session. 

Herbs & spices

We also stopped at the bakery for baguettes, and James shared his kilishi (street meat or jerky) with us on the ride home. Yum!

Then on Friday afternoon, after we closed up shop, Deb and I went on about a 5-mile hike behind the property to the edge of Galmi village.

Boys and their donkeys at the watering hole

Camels!

Round huts are for storing harvested crops and square buildings are homes.

Sunset over a field with salad and beans and carrots; millet stalks have been harvested

Mirror, mirror

It is 10pm on Thursday and since Monday morning, we have only had about 1 hour of internet access, so I will try to catch up and hope that I can post this soon. (Note: it is now 7pm on Friday and hope is restored ☺)

On Monday this little cutie came in to be treated for clubfoot, something which is fairly common in developing countries.

 This is one of our regulars, riding the bike

 I was keeping this guy occupied while one of our PTs worked on his legs

On Tuesday I began working with a middle aged business man who had suffered a stroke. He is my first patient who speaks some English (Niger is francophone) and he and his brothers enjoy making fun of my Hausa phrases.

I instructed our OT student, Amy, on how to make a mirror box for hand therapy. On Monday this man’s wrist was weak and his hand was mostly paralyzed (right hemiparesis) immediately following the stroke. On Tuesday we put his right hand in the box and he did activities with his left (good) hand for 15 minutes while watching himself in the mirror so that his brain was under the illusion that he once again had two good hands.

We followed that by removing the box and repeating the same activities with his right hand (squeezing a ball, placing pegs, stacking tiles, flipping cards, etc.).

After 3 sessions of mirror therapy his right hand could do this:

Amy presented our mirror therapy to the doctors and pharmacist at the staff meeting today ☺ You have to subscribe to the journal in order to read the research on it (I know you want to!), so take me at my word when I say that the research shows that this is the most effective type of therapy intervention for someone who has had a hemiplegic stroke. Amy also implemented it today with a lady (younger than me) who had a postpartum stroke after birthing her first baby, a beautiful and healthy little girl. Please pray for both of these patients to make the fullest recovery possible.

And for our internet to remain ON! 😁

But back to putting everything in perspective:

On Weds Deb and I happened to be in the OR looking for someone when a patient coded on the table. Residents calmly stepped in and performed CPR and we saw him restored to life right there, praise God. However, last weekend there was a house fire in the village and someone dumped what they thought was water but was actually petrol on it, burning 4 people. A 7 year old boy has died and 3 men are still being treated for their burns here. Please pray for them and their families. 

Making new friends

I am blessed with many great friends (and loving family) at home, but I have also met a lot of new people here in Niger, especially just in the past 7 days. 

 On Friday afternoon the teens from Sahel Academy played with our camp kids again ☺

On Friday night I had dinner and movie night (How to Train Your Dragon) with Amy, Ann & Kathy

Today (Saturday) we bid farewell to the cap kids and mamas. I was in awe watching them pile all of their possessions on their head and carry a kid (some of them two kids) out the gate.

This afternoon I toured the workshops of the town with Janet, one of our seasoned Galmi staff, and a bunch of newbies. We walked through areas of mud brick houses and millet stalk huts, like this:

This granny, whom I'd like to refer to as Maz Kanata for all of my Star Wars geek friends, makes these lovely clay pots (with donkey dung for extra fiber) and I wish I could've gotten one home in my suitcase! She is whacking it with a wooden paddle into the round shape.

This guy was working on wood carving, axes and the grinding pots for grain:

 These are the silversmiths, making spoons and ladles (aluminum, not real silver):

...I'm defnitely coming home with a new ladle.

This evening I watched Sherlock (the BBC TV show) with Deb and Kathy and had dinner with a nice group of 10 Galmi friends. In the morning I will be walking to church (I want to see a different one than last week) and in the evening it's my turn to have the girls for dinner. Life is better with friends!

Babies, babies everywhere!

 So many adorable babies and kids at our therapy camp!

The wind continues to be a struggle and the "cold" (65 degree) weather has made runny noses an epidemic in our little camp, but we continue bravely on!

Me with Nafisa, one of our daily outpatient kids

 Since half of our therapy camp kids need to work on sitting balance/posture, one of our carpenters has made them custom chairs with a milk can base. Here Deb explains to Mom how to put her toddler in the harness.

 This little guy has not progressed to sitting on a milk can, so his chair is smaller and simpler:

 High school kids from Sahel Academy came to volunteer at the hospital this week. They helped us to make creative, simple, homemade toys that the families can easily replicate with items in their villages. Examples seen here are nesting cans, rattles out of plastic bottles, rock sorters (the containers with holes in the lids), balls out of baggies and fabric, and my favorite...

...the "catch the ball in the Pringles can" game 😀

 These 2 guys were hugging, but I couldn't get the shot fast enough...

 ...however I still think they get the award for cutest patooties!

Sadly, we found out that the baby we had previously been praying for, with burns over 75% of his body, did not survive the weekend. I hope that his mom can be comforted in her grief. On a related note, Deb is talking to these moms at camp about healthy grieving and recognizing that having a child with a disability is not a punishment. We hope that 2 of the kids, whose families live here in Galmi village, will continue coming with their families for outpatient therapy even after camp is dispersed.

Happy hearts

The therapy camp is off to a good start. Fortunately OTs are pros at problem solving, because we've conquered one obstacle after another.

Today it is the wind; it keeps the temperature down, but sand is everywhere  (I mean everywhere!) and the women couldn't cook (open fire concept). So a few of the men erected makeshift barriers around the cooking area.

Here are some of the kids on Tuesday:

 Here is our Valentine's Day party :

I got a Valentine! 

It made my day 😊❤

 Here is one of our kids walking today after we fitted her with pink ankle -foot orthotics (AFOs). She's using an assistive device that resembles a tricycle as Oumarou and Deb help to steady her.

There was a poignant moment for me this morning when a mama asked a Nigerian interpreter, "Do the women in the West have babies like this [with disabilities], too?" It was explained that yes, these diagnoses can occur anywhere and to anyone. It was important to try to dispel the myth that the women or their families are being punished for something they might have done or didn't do, or cursed by an enemy.

Some of the moms are quickly picking up the ideas of positioning, facilitating play and interaction. All of them have verbalized a commitment to stay for 2 weeks, although it is a cultural norm to say what the speaker wants to hear and not necessarily follow through. We remain hopeful and we are looking forward to student volunteers from Sahel Academy visiting tomorrow to play with the kids.

Peeling potatoes on the porch

It's a Monday. And it's been a long day.

I spent from 8am-6pm (minus my siesta) with 6 moms and 7 kids with a range of disabilities, including malnutrition, HIV, global developmental delay, and cerebral palsy. They will be staying for up to 2 weeks on the hospital compound in order to learn about caring for and interacting with their kids.

One of our hospital staff educates the women about HIV/ AIDS

We spent most of the day assessing each child individually for cognitive, sensory, balance, reflexive, gross motor, fine motor, expressive, auditory and visual function, rating them on developmental milestones. Most need to focus on sitting before we can attempt standing or walking. Please pray for Deb, Amy, Barna, Oumarou and myself as we continue to work with these kids each day; for energy, creativity, positivity, and grace. Please pray that the moms will remain motivated to learn and put into practice what we teach.

Martin came by to wake me up from my nap (don't tell Stormy)

As  soon as I got home to make dinner, the power went out for at least 20 minutes. I channeled my inner Laura Ingalls Wilder and sat on the porch in twilight to peel potatoes. It's only 8:45pm and I'm ready for a shower and bed...maybe I'm turning into a granny out here!