Days 2-4

 Selam, friends!

We’re a few days into the trip and we’ve finally had a chance to adjust from jetlag (thanks to coffee, melatonin, and Benadryl). Everyday we’ve tried new foods, made new friends, and made new memories. 

Over the past 3 days, we’ve spent most of our time serving at Kidus Petros Hospital (St. Peter’s in English). The hospital is a government-run institution that is primarily a tuberculosis specialized hospital that serves the people of Addis Ababa. We’ve mainly been at their outpatient physiotherapy department alongside their staff and have been able to co-treat many patients with different musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. It was interesting to see how differently they treat under different environments with different equipment. The physios there were eager to learn new techniques and use new equipment.

“We were called into a room to treat a patient with a new stroke. As I walked in, I was surprised  to see four beds with barely any equipment, only one catheter. Despite this I was very impressed by how the patient’s family wanted to be involved with the treatment. The patient’s sons stepped in and assisted in sitting him up and other therapeutic activities. I was also very impressed by how eager the patient was to work to improve his condition. In my experience, many patients in acute care would refuse to work with physical therapists, but this man was willing to push himself and try new things. We got to treat him again the next day and I was surprised how much he improved overnight, as he was already out of flexor synergy and his standing balance was much better. Seeing him walk for for the first time was a big moment for me, as this was his first time to walk in 10 days since the onset of stroke. I was most impacted how much the family wanted to support our patient. Before he left the clinic, we were able to pray for him.” - Jon

“I was able to assist in treating a man who had suffered a spinal cord injury at T9 that left him paralyzed from that level down. We were able to teach him about his injury and how to improve his sensation and motor control. Immediately following his injury, he was told that he had a complete spinal cord injury, meaning he would not regain function below his level of injury. However, he told us that he was beginning to have sensation to the top of his hips, and we were able to feel muscle contraction in that area as well, meaning that he did have motor control below his level of injury (Yay!). We told him that there is hope that he will continue to regain function. We continued to educate him on exercises that he can do to improve his sensation and control. We noticed that he had some swelling in his feet due to being wheelchair bound for so long. Because of this, we searched through our supplies to find compression sleeves that would fit him. We found 2 different sizes to use on each leg and one of them ended up being the perfect size for that leg. It was the last of what we had of that size. (God still works miracles!) The patient was so thankful and continued to have a positive attitude despite his circumstances. He taught us just as much as we taught him. 

Another one of the many things that have touched my heart thus far was when I observed a low back pain patient come to the clinic in tears and having difficulty walking because of her pain. After being treated by Isaiah and Ethan, the patient was able to walk much easier and was no longer in tears. She repeated the phrase “God bless you, God bless you…” in Amharic (the Ethiopian language) near the end of her treatment. It was amazing to see the impact that was made and such a blessing to witness the patient leave the session so much better than when she came. I can see God working here.” - Chaney

We also got to spend an afternoon in their ICU. We and their staff collaborated on early mobility and positioning strategies in order to improve outcomes for patients. 

This morning, and most other Thursday mornings, the staff at St. Peter’s physiotherapy department treat many babies with clubfoot deformities. We enjoyed learning about their methods of casting these kiddos to improve their function and mobility long term. 

Aside from our days in the clinic, we’ve had some fun times in the evenings. Due to traveling, we weren’t able to celebrate our team leader’s (Bev) birthday, but a couple of nights ago, Pastor Amanuel and the other local staff collaborated to put together a dinner celebration for her. Last night, we also got to visit and quickly tour a local Orthodox Church, which is a main religion in Ethiopia along with Islam. 

Amasegnelehu (thank you), for your continued prayers for this trip. God is doing so much and we are looking forward to seeing Him do more here in Addis. Until next time, ciao!