Videos...

Good (early) morning...I am awake ~ of course ~ and it's only 430a Omaha time (230a San Francisco time), so I thought what better task to complete than to finish posting a couple more videos from Saigon. 

Here they are...and then maybe I can fall back to sleep???

xoxo
Stacy

Day 2...So Much Talking...

Well, it's Friday, March 27th at 955p and I cannot believe it is already Friday!  This week has gone by in a flash...feels like I just left Omaha.

We completed our final day at the Pediatric Hospital #1 and this morning Amy and I presented lectures to 76 participants ~ medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists and some rehabilitation specialists.  We began at 830a and finished at 12p and the topic was Global Developmental Delay.  Amy and I co-presented some basic information on development, causes of developmental delay, and all of the aspects of development that can be affected.  I then presented on motor delays and Amy presented on delays in speech, communication, and social-emotional development.  Our talks were well-received and the final 30 minutes were for questions.  Many of the questions were quite good and we definitely have noticed that the questions we are getting this time around are more sophisticated and there has been great discussion here with the participants.

The sign behind us announces the course being taught today.  We are standing with Giao (far left) and 2 of the speech therapists, who are so lovely.

Amy and I with our sign. 

Giao and I discussing a patient I referred to his department and hospital that we screened in Can Tho on Tuesday, who would benefit from seeing a Neurologist, as well as getting some lower extremity bracing for walking.  Giao, as I knew he would, is going to contact the family and bring them to Saigon for an evaluation of the boy and will assist them in getting him what he needs and assisting with the finances, as needed. 

Amy...talking and doing a great job!

Waiting for the translation to end and then more talking about Global Developmental Delays. 

Then, once the lectures were completed, we were whisked-away to lunch in the hospital cafeteria.  Here's a sampling of what we ate for lunch...yummy!

Shrimp/Prawns wrapped in potato...kind of delightful!

Noodles with squid, pea pods, carrot and shrimp. 

Everyone needs this collection of toothpick holders that are banana-themed. 

After lunch, the original plan was that Amy would spend time with the speech therapists discussing cases/asking questions and I would see 2 additional patients with the physical therapists.  We were informed that plan had changed and that we would both be spending time with our colleagues answering questions for the afternoon.  That was fine for Amy and me.  Then at lunch today, they let us know that we were going to all meet together ~ physical and speech therapists ~ and we would field all questions from the entire group.  Again, just fine with us.

Amy teaching...lots of questions about autism again.  It's becoming more prevalent here.

This is a classic Amy 'look.'  :)

Teaching and talking continues...

We then went again into the room with the lovely air conditioner, but like yesterday afternoon, it felt as though it was 'fighting the good fight,' but that the 99 degree day was winning.  Nonetheless, we spent 3 hours answering the therapist's questions which were wide-ranging and good questions.  Lots of demonstration of movement with our bodies and lots of explaining and re-explaining done, as sometimes with the translation from English to Vietnamese, something can get lost.  Giao, the director of the Rehabilitation Department, interpreted our lectures this morning and all day yesterday and we found out today on Tuesday/Wednesday prior to our arrival he was taking his entrance exams for a Masters in Public Health program, and by this afternoon he was exhausted, so some of the other therapists jumped-in and did some translation, which was great as it gives them experience in this too.  By 4p, Amy and I were hot and tired...especially of talking.  So...much...talking today.  But, all well worth the effort and our time here has been, as usual, wonderful and because we have been coming here since 2004 and working with the Pediatric Hospital #1 rehabilitation staff, many of them have become good friends too.  So, it is lovely to catch-up and see those familiar faces.  They are all very disappointed we are not able to stay longer this year, but know they will welcome us back when we can come again...hopefully for a longer period of time in the future.

Here's some more photos from yesterday's clinic time with our adorable 6 little kiddos.  They were all so wonderful and tolerated these 2 American therapists so well, especially as many of the children here have never seen a non-Vietnamese person.  We are so grateful to the parents of these children and to the staff for arranging it so we can spend time with the children and help the therapists learn more and develop their assessment and treatment skills.

This gorgeous 18 month old boy was so floppy, but he let me work him so hard for nearly an hour.  He has loads of potential for good improvements.  

Amy is inserting herself into his game that he only wants to play by himself.  He allowed her into his game and then she was able to expand his play significantly during the session.  

Playing and changing the rules of the game to encourage greater learning and expansion of play skills.

Teaching and playing and treating, oh my!

Mom learning how to encourage him to transition from laying on his back to sitting more independently by rolling to his side and using his arm to push himself to sitting.

More teaching...with a doll with the craziest outfit.  

Sweet, sweet girl with suspected visual/hearing impairments and possible seizure activity.  Her parents love her so much...it's just lovely!

Look at dad hold her hand while she is sitting with mom.  Sigh.

Getting to know her...and learning about her from her parents.

Tummy time and work...she surprised me a lot in this session.  

Facilitating reaching and lateral weight shifts for strengthening of her shoulders and upper chest and back.

She got into hands/knees (four-point) and maintained this with assistance at her abdominals.  Such a surprise!

 More talking and teaching...such a great experience!

Bubble time...so much bubble time...she LOVED the bubbles!

Great social skills and really wanted to play with Amy and those bubbles!

Sharing with me too.  Everyone got a turn.

Having a great time with those bubbles!

Moving onto a new toy.  Becoming friends.

Transitioning to standing and playing.  Trying to slow her body down so she could use her muscles to control her movement.  She was a whirling-dervish.  WOW!

Finding a little quieter body...again with the bubbles...the best!

Teaching and treating.  Such a gem of a little girl.

Improving standing and better control of her movement...in about 45 minutes.  

Weight bearing through her hands to increase activation of her trunk muscles.  Check-out those hyperextended elbows. She was loosey-goosey.  

Loves the books.  Such good joint attention.

Getting a little tired, so giving her a little more support.

Talking a little speech and sound production.  

Talking and teaching some more...in between clients.

We then returned to the 'hub of serenity' ~ Ma Maison ~ and our 2 younger hosts took good care of us, providing us a little fruit and some refreshing juice.  We had said 'no, thank you' to the fruit, but they brought it anyway...I guess they know best, right?  Such wonderful hospitality!

Papaya, watermelon, pineapple

Double banana...lucky banana???

Tonight, we then had our farewell dinner ~ a tradition ~ with some of the staff from the Pediatric Hospital #1.  We went to a seafood/fish/vegetarian restaurant and it was delicious, but so many courses.  Good thing we only eat out of a tiny rice bowl, so the portions are small and more manageable.  Here's a view of our dinner tonight...

Lettuce, mint, cucumber, pineapple...all garnishes for our meal

Top Row ~ seafood inside, Bottom Row ~ crab meat inside

Calamari (squid)...tentacles and all. 

Vietnamese spring rolls...with shrimp.  Very popular in the southern part of Vietnam.  Not so much in the northern part of Vietnam.  These are one of my favorite things to eat here!  Eaten with a peanut sauce. 

Catfish with vegetables.

Garnish on the side of the plate...made out of potato (body), carrot (wings), chili pepper (beak) and peppercorns (eyes). 

The staff are so kind, giving us gifts and are so gracious in their appreciation for our help.  We were also joined at dinner by Yen, the former director of the Pediatric Hospital #1 Rehabilitation Department.  In Vietnam, women must retire at the age of 55 years and men at 60 years of age.  This is mandatory.  So, Yen retired from her Director position and her 'right-hand man,' Giao, took over.  Since retiring, Yen has completed a certificate program in a speech pathology ~ managed by the Australian Speech-Language Association ~ and is now working in a different capacity with children with hearing loss and cochlear implants.  She is able to work since retiring, as she is doing a different job in a different career.  She was a physical therapist prior to retirement.  She is simply amazing!  A bundle of energy and wonderful-ness!  I adore her and Amy and I were grateful to have even just 2 hours of time with her, although we all agreed it is far too short!

Quyen, Giao, Me, Suh, Hung

Thinh, Yen, Amy, Sao, Huyen

The whole group after dinner.  Vietnamese dinner parties are great.  They are done by 9p and everyone goes home to sleep. 

I think that's the theme for this trip, but I truly am grateful for each and every day I have had on this abbreviated mission trip.  I continue to benefit greatly from these experiences and continue to live in a state of incredible gratitude for my life, family, friends and for the passion I have for my career and chosen profession.    So, this is officially our last night in Saigon and in Vietnam.  Tomorrow we depart for the US. 

I am so happy to have come and mostly to be able to spend time with my friend, Amy!  Although we no longer live in the same city nor work together each day, she is still such an important friend to me and our shared experiences here in Vietnam continue to enhance and strengthen what I know will be a life-long friendship!  She's amazing and the best!  It's hard to imagine we came for our 1st mission trip 11 years ago.  She and I have lived much life during these 11 years and I am grateful she has been by my side the whole way through. 

Thus concludes another chapter in my travels with the International Extremity Project!  What an amazing group of folks, unified by a desire to help others and to make a small impact on the world outside of our normal day-to-day routines.  It is a diverse group and a group that adds new people each trip, but at its core, it is a group with a very common and strong mission!

I promised a few days ago some video of the amazing traffic here.  Hopefully this will work?!?!  See below and enjoy!  (I will post some other video once I get back to the US, as my connection speed isn't quite fast enough here to get the videos to load in a timely manner.)

Thanks for reading this and you can continue to follow the work of the International Extremity Project doctors and nurses, as they will be here in Vietnam for 1 more week, doing more surgeries and helping more people.  They can be found as follows:

On Facebook ~ International Extremity Project page

OR

www.extremityproject.com/

OR

www.extremityproject.com.blogspot.com

I look forward to returning to this beautiful country very soon!

Thanks and take good care...

xoxo
Stacy