This morning we were a little bit tired but excited for the day’s activities. Our first patient of the day in the wheelchair room was a wonderful lady that told us a story about the stars. Although most of us did not know Spanish it was a very touching experience. She was very thankful for the walker that we gave her and asked if she could pray for us. We all stood around her while she prayed for us and Rolando translated. It was a very emotional experience that brought tears to many eyes. Currently, Rolando is working on translating the story for us. We fixed several other children’s wheelchairs and Megan L did an excellent job adapting a walker to work for a sweet young boy. It was exciting to see him walk out of the building, using his new walker!

While some of the therapists worked on wheelchair adjustments, others had two of the boys on the floor, interacting while passing a ball back and forth. Despite their physical disabilities, they were able to grab the ball and pass it together.
We had lunch and the remainder of the day was slow in the wheelchair room because two children had surgery today and one young girl’s family car broke down and there was no other means of transportation to get her to the appointment. In the sensory room we saw a young lady whose caregiver was from Chicago. She moved to Guatemala and opened up an orphanage for children who are HIV positive. Her story and experiences were inspiring. It was so much easier to discuss the care plans with her because there was no language barrier!

Rolando brought his puppets today, all which have different disabilities. The kids loved interacting with the puppets, dancing with them and hugging them. We loved listening to Rolando sing “Who let the dogs out” while making the puppets dance. We are sad that tomorrow is our final day at Missionaries of the Highway, but very thankful for the many children and families we have been able to interact with. These experiences are ones that we know we will always remember!

Gina Knebel, Occupational Therapist
Brittany Schmidt, Occupational therapy student