I didn't really do a lot today. I sat and listened to Sam and Ken present on Neck and Back Injuries/Pain. Also, I finished putting together my stroke presentation for tomorrow. I helped a little with demonstrations in the afternoon so I guess I wasn't totally useless. :)
I'm sort of enjoying all of the reviewing of material trying to put together my slides. This trip has really forced me to review my anatomy and kinesiology a lot to make sure I am not telling the PTs incorrect stuff! Maybe I should do some teaching after all. I think I doubt my abilities too much sometimes.
I'm really impressed with the bunch of therapists we have in the course. They are very inquisitive and have interesting ideas on how to approach certain treatments! I hope this course will help them a little more with applying the book knowledge to treating patients. Therapy is very much an art. Unlike medicine, we cannot give all patients the same treatment for the same problem. Often times patients will have the same exact diagnosis. However, as therapists we will create a completely different treatment plan for once patient compared to another since the patient responds totally different to one exercise then the other patient. Its been really hard for me as a therapist to understand this and develop effective treatments. Without good mentoring in school or when you finish school, these skills may never be established if one does not have a good mentor. I hope we are helping them establish good treatment skills!!!
Two of the therapist at the course are from the Volta region. I am planning on visiting their clinics over the next 2 months to help them problem solve on tougher patients. I hope I will be helpful. They see such complex things here. A lot of the injuries they see are due to how hard labor is for the women here. The babies have difficulty getting through the birth canal and so they end up with Cerebral Palsy or Nerve Injuries. While in the US, cerebral palsy is a common disease, we treat it much sooner and have therapists following the patients as babies. A lot of the nerve injuries like Erb's Palsy are rare in the US because the doctors do C-sections on high risk women. Most of the women here never even see a doctor during delivery. They deliver at home or have a midwife present. Only if there are complications does the doctor get involved. At that point, the damage may already be done. I'm not trying to put down midwifes, but we just have more diagnostic equipment in the US or faster response times to alleviate problems.
That makes me think about a car accident we saw yesterday. I guess a trotro (minivan bus taxi) hit a motorcycle with 2 passengers. The motorcycle was weaving in and out of traffic on a very windy mountain road. The trotro driver said the motorcycle ran into them. The trotro ended up in the ditch and the bike was laying on the side of the road. Ken passed the accident before Sam and I so he stopped to help. The 2 motorcyclists were laying on the side of the road bleeding. No one was helping them. People were just standing around. Ken stopped and tried to stop the bleeding and get a taxi to take them to the hospital. The taxi cab driver was more upset about the blood that would get on his car than the fact that a man was going to die if he didn't get help fast! By the time they got to the hospital, both motorcyclists had died. Had there been 911 or EMTs they people may have survived. Its just such a different mentality here. Traffic accidents are very common. There is no emergency response team and so I guess people do not really think about trying to get them to the hospital.
There is so much basic training that needs to be established here. They've come along ways. Every pregnant woman gets HIV testing. They now know not to reuse needles. So progress is being made. I think seeing what has been accomplished in the past 10-20 years keeps me from getting discouraged. The change does not happen over night, but it can happen!!! I think that makes this trip so exciting and worth it!
Love, Kari
When I was there in May last year, I stayed in a town called Adaklu. They had a 3-day festival with constant dancing and singing to celebrate a man who had survived a car accident and a woman (and baby) who survived a tough pregnancy. That's when I first saw the Bɔbɔbɔ dance... It's just incredible what we take for granted here. I'm glad you're able to keep sight on how far they HAVE come. Thanks for your hard work and for keeping us updated!
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