The 2022 SBU DPT Ethiopia team has officially gone, served, and
all have returned to our respective homes in time for spending Christmas with
our loved ones. It was our first ever effort to the country of Ethiopia. Overall,
it was rich for us in terms of learning about the culture as well as learning
about the healthcare system of the country. We met and treated people from all
walks of life - from the financially poor to political, military, business, and
entertainment dignitaries. And I can confidently say that I saw this team treat
all of them exactly the same – with honor, dignity, and with a complete
outpouring of love. The last half of the trip became busier and busier as word spread
about the team. We were asked to present a day and a half of continuing
education over the weekend, which the team embraced with only 2 days’ notice. I
could not have been more proud to see the team pull together their knowledge to
teach a total of about 25 Ethiopian Physios about the current evidence on Knee
OA and Low Back Pain. And I threw in a quick session on Body Taping.
Ultimately, I believe we were able to leave a lasting effect from the knowledge
sharing from the weekend course along with the day to day sharing in the care
of regular caseloads with the Ethiopian Physios at 2 large public hospitals. It
was so satisfying to watch the PT’s and students, into whom I previously poured
my teaching, so freely begin to pour out their knowledge to Ethiopian patients
and PT professionals all hungry to learn. This is the ripple effect of
education. To God Be the Glory! - Bev
Thursdays at the hospital were designated for club foot
casting day, and as one of the therapists that wasn’t as pediatric minded as
others, I tried to not get into the way of the busy therapists who were
casting. While standing off to the side, I noticed an older women standing by
herself who had been waiting for well over forty five minutes for time to talk
with the head PT. Compelled by the Holy Spirit to go talk to her, I went up to
her hoping she spoke English and she did. We chatted small talk for a bit, but
she quickly jumped right to the point that she had been waiting for so long to
see if she could even attempt at getting her daughter in for us to see. You
see, word had spread that the “Americans” were here and she had such faith in
what we were doing that she wanted just one visit with us and her daughter. She
left crying with joy when it was decided that we would push off our lunch to
see her daughter. Her daughter came in, and it was an absolute joy to treat
her. Not only that, but as a team we were able to all offer assistance. A
couple of therapists and I were able to provide much needed therapy to address
her condition, other team members were able to aid in fixing her wheelchair,
and yet others were able to pray with her mom. Through a full team effort we
were able to consult her health needs as well as plant a seed spiritually. I do
not know where she stood spiritually after we had prayed with her and her mom,
but through God we provided healing and demonstrated Christ love to her, now
leaving it to the Holy Spirit to continue his work. This stood out to me
because back in July as we were planning for this trip, I had reached out to
Dr. McNeal to ask about how we were going to incorporate our faith with our
treatment. She reminded me that Jesus’ time on earth was largely spent healing
physical needs as well as sharing the news He brought to this earth. This past
story reminded me so much of this. Like with the mom who brought her daughter
to us, the Gospels tells us of people who brought their sick to Jesus with the
hope of physical healing in which Jesus helped both their physical needs as
well as give them hope for eternal life. Physical therapy opens the door for
ministry and this story made it so evident as to why we were in Ethiopia, to
ultimately share the love of God and spread the story that so greatly impacts
our lives. - Ethan
I had the pleasure of witnessing how the physiotherapists of
Addis Ababa were able to help make a difference in the lives of their patients
with very little resources. One of the most impactful moments for me was seeing
how the people of Ethiopia were suffering in so many ways and yet they were so
gracious, hospitable, and very welcoming to us. This trip helped remind me to
always be grateful for every challenge we encounter in our lives and to not
take things for granted. It also encouraged me to continually place myself in
other people’s shoes and give/show love to all just as Christ loves all of us.
- Katrina
One moment that was the most impactful for me this trip was
when I was able to work with a few patients at the dialysis center. A lot of
them were very reconditioned and were not walking very well and/or were very
weak from treatment and lack of activity. I had the privilege of meeting and
working with a woman who had been coming for dialysis for 1 month, and had not
been able to walk when she started treatment. She came into the clinic that day
with a cane and was still having a lot of difficulty ambulating. It became
clear that her assistive device was not appropriate for her needs and that she
would benefit from one of the walkers we had brought on the trip. When I walked
into the room with it her whole face lit up and she told me that she had been
searching for a walker for a long time but was not able to find one. It was
amazing to see the change in her countenance throughout the rest of our session
just from that simple gift. At the end of our session Dr. McNeal asked if we
could pray for her and she told us that she was Muslim but that we could still
pray with her. She in turn prayed over us, which was such a blessing to me.
After we prayed, Pastor Ammanuel told us how shocked he was that she said yes
and that it shows how grateful she was that she allowed us to pray over her
because Muslims usually don’t agree to Christians praying for them. I really
appreciated this woman’s openness and our mutual ability to share our beliefs and
prayers for blessing over one another. - Rebekah
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, going on a mission trip
for the first time since Covid. But the Lord’s hand over our team and project
was evident all throughout the trip. He perfectly crafted our team, and getting
to experience SBU’s first PT trip to Ethiopia together was such a gift. It’s
hard to put into words, other than it left our hearts feeling flooded. There
are a lot of moments that stick out, but there is one afternoon in particular
that I keep coming back to. A patient was brought in that had suffered
meningitis and a severely high fever a year ago, and the affects left her
unable to sit, stand, or walk independently. I got pulled in to help, as we
originally thought she was a pediatric patient (turns out she was turning 30 in
a few days, not 13…oops!) I had no idea what to do, but I jumped in to help in
whatever way I could. She experienced a lot of pain when we attempted to
stretch her muscles. Pretty quickly, we recruited other team members to help
with ideas. At some point during our 60-90 minute treatment session, every
person on our team had an opportunity to work with her in some capacity.
Whether it was stretching, therapeutic exercise, finding wrist/thumb splints,
or fixing her wheelchair. We all got to be a part of her session, and she spoke
English fairly well, so we were able to communicate a bit more with her than
some other patients we saw. We squeezed her in - which delayed our lunch by a
couple of hours - but getting to meet her, work with her, pray over her, and
witness her and her mother’s gratitude was really touching. I’m humbled and
immensely grateful for the opportunity to experience Ethiopia’s beautiful
culture and interact with the people we met - especially alongside my team.
We’re sad to come back home and go our separate ways, but I’m confident He’ll
continue using us to bring glory to His name. - Kailyn
One of the most memorable moments for me on this trip was
when our team saw a patient who had meningitis and was living with after
effects of the disease such as contractures, balance deficits, and decreased
mobility. She was the only patient in the clinic at the time which gave the
unique opportunity for all members of our team to be involved in her care. It
was a really sweet moment where I saw everyone pull together to use their
knowledge and abilities to help the patient in whatever way we could - whether
that was working on balance training, searching through equipment to find
anything that could help her, adjusting her wheelchair to better fit her, or
encouraging and praying over her and her mother. It was in that moment that I
observed how perfectly the Lord knit together our team with each individual’s
unique gifts to serve the people of Ethiopia. As the week went on, I
continually observed members of our team interacting with patients and always
having someone on our team with knowledge and skills to meet individual patient
needs. It was so sweet to work and grow with my peers in this way. - Courtney
The thing that will stick with me from this trip is how
fortunate we are for what we consider “basic” health care, especially when it
comes to fractures. I had two examples of this through the trip. The first was
a working mother that came into the clinic with elbow pain. The pain started
about 1 year ago when she fell. After the fall she was diagnosed with a
fracture near the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. For treatment the physicians
chose to inject the women with corticosteroids, which initially relieved the
pain. The pain relief led the patient to believe her bone had healed, however
after a month or two she began to have pain in her elbow. It was again due to
the fracture which had not joined. The
patient immediately wondered if she could continue to work and care for her
children. If she cannot work she cannot feed her family. Taking a decreased
work load was also not an option like it typically would be in the U.S. The patient was soon going to be faced with
the decision to choose to continue working without allowing the necessary time
for the fracture to heal, or to stop working and no longer being able to
provide food for her children. With this treatment session the team was able to
relieve some of the pain in the shoulder region caused by muscular tightness.
We continue to wish we could have done more for her but the circumstances were
out of our control. Another patient came into the clinic in a wheel chair with
a very noticeable leg length discrepancy of about 6 inches. When asked if this
was congenital or caused by trauma, he said it was due to a fracture in his leg
a long time ago and the physician chose not to immobilize the femur; instead
the physician left the femur to heal on its own. The bone was not aligned when
it healed, causing a significant deformity. Despite this the patient wanted to
walk. I asked if he had been walking at home and reported he had. The man had
been using two crutches to walk which required significant amounts of energy.
The patient was provided a walker and educated on proper use of the device as
well as strategies to conserve energy. After the training he did not want to
stop walking. He was enjoying being able to walk with such ease. Neither of
these patients could explain why the treatment was performed the way that it
was but both were ready to return to their lives. Both of these cases would
have been considered an “easy” fix in the US, but due to high demand on
physicians, lack of resources, and on occasion lack of knowledge the healthcare
system could not provide the highest level of care needed for these patients.
These interactions showed me how much of a privilege it is to have access to
the healthcare we have in the U.S. - Jon
One of the more eye-opening experiences for me on this trip
was on our last clinic day working at the military hospital. There we got to
meet one of the few doctors of physical therapy in Ethiopia as well as his
physio staff. I was impressed by their flexibility, not only with their
resources, but also in their care, as many of the patients they cared for have
multi-system impairments that are high complexity in nature resulting from
various mechanisms of trauma from war. That day we were there we saw patient
after patient one immediately after the other, all with different presentations
resulting from trauma as could be expected in a military setting. These
clinicians did the best that they could with the equipment, time, resources,
and education that they had so that their wounded countrymen could have another
(and a better) chance at a normal life after their injury. Their passion and
care for their brothers and sisters is something that I will carry with me into
my practice as I return home. - Isaiah
On Friday morning, half of our team served at St. Peter’s
while the other half served at the dialysis centre. When our team met up at the
dialysis center for lunch after a busy morning at both locations, we were
surprised with a visit from a group of outstanding ladies, including the the
Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya. They all so graciously expressed their
thankfulness to us for visiting Ethiopia and serving its people. They went on
to explain how much it means to them and offered us Scriptural encouragement as
well as blessed us with prayer. We were all so moved by this experience. God’s
timing was truly perfect, as we were all beginning to feel the effects of
sickness, fatigue, unpreparedness; and God once again swooped in to remind us
that His ways are always greater and He is faithful to provide when we have
nothing left. God’s presence was felt throughout the entirety of the trip, but
the whole team would agree that it was overwhelming in the break room that day.
Of the MANY moments throughout the trip that truly touched my heart, this was a
big one. – Chaney
As I have started to reflect on my time in Ethiopia, the
theme of gratitude continues to circulate through my thoughts and memories. I
can recall a woman’s eyes overflowing with happy tears as she begins to walk
for the first time without pain in over a year. I can see her stretching out
her hand to bless team members for loving on her and caring for her. This same
extravagant expression of gratefulness occurred throughout the trip despite
whether or not equipment was given or whether or not an immense change in
symptoms occurred. Both patients and fellow physical therapists were overjoyed
with the thought alone that I was there. This sentiment has caused me to look
to God for a heart check. Am I thankful for the time and effort people in my
life give? Is God’s presence alone sufficient when life is not providing the
outcomes I want? Maybe sometimes the answer is yes. I am certain, however, that
my answer is not yes enough. This time of ministry has challenged me to
cultivate a heart and a life of gratitude. To me, this means that my thoughts
and actions are motivated by who God is and what he has done/continues to do.
This means that I continue to show up and “work heartily as unto the Lord.”
This also means that I make it a point to express gratitude to others even if
it is solely for being present. -Brittany
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
