On Sunday
it’s Tokiso’s birthday and I arrange a small party for him down in house 5.
This is the boy who wanted to walk to school when I first came in 2016. He started
a ball rolling that has gathered momentum over the last 2 years, resulting in bringing
out a ton of physiotherapy equipment this year and the building of the
physiotherapy house.
I have
realised that you can’t just start something and walk away, raise hopes and
then dash them, however I didn’t ever imagine the subsequent events that have
followed from Tokiso’s dream. Yes, getting the equipment out here has been
worthwhile. It has given the children the opportunity to do all sorts of
activities, on a wide spectrum from walking, to being able to touch something
intentionally.
Having some
control over what your feet and hands do is massive progress for some of these
children. The joy of being able to kick a ball or bang a drum can not be
underestimated, We’ve even reached the stage where some of the kids can kick
the ball to each other holding onto standing frames or strapped into a chair.
Maybe one day Phelisanong will have a disabled football team.
Ultimately
you want their progress and the physiotherapy to continue. Regarding that
aspect I feel I have done what I can. Malineo has stayed the course from her
training last year and continues to grow in statue as a physiotherapy
assistant. She has now worked along me for 10 weeks in total and has proved to
be an absolute diamond.
The jury is
out on Joalane, she’s had her moments but I’m
not sure if she has the passion and commitment to last, time will tell. Other staff have joined in for
various sessions, including Mamello, helping physiotherapy to gain a higher
profile. Its impossible to avoid us as we are constantly blocking the pathways
with the walking frames, taking the children to school or the physiotherapy
room.
I have also
met a number of the parents and relatives, this year and last, and spoken to
them about how to maintain their child’s physiotherapy at home. Malineo leant
out some of the physiotherapy equipment to use in the holidays to help the
children do their exercises and get the families involved.
I feel the
new physiotherapy house will also help sustain the physiotherapy, giving it a
base and focus. On my last day here Mamello asked me to do a presentation to
all the staff on the progress of the physiotherapy, the importance of the
equipment and the new building. It’s my third time at Phelisanong and every
visit has been a building block improving the physiotherapy treatment for the disabled
children here.
So, will I
be back again? Well I would certainly like to come back to see the physio house
set up properly, the children using the facilities and support Malineo. I would
like to bring back more equipment as the children are growing all the time and
need bigger boots and better seating. There is so much work to be done here but
it really needs a team of specialists to give the best treatment. Two incidents
illustrate this on my final day.
I am in the
physio room with 3 children when Mama Jo comes in with an elderly couple and a
young boy. Without any explanation she leaves them with me, obviously in the
belief I am clairvoyant. At this point I get a lucky break because the
gentleman speaks good English and informs me they are the child’s grand parents
and have been told to bring him to physiotherapy. We all look at the boy as he
wanders aimlessly about the room unaware of where he is or what he’s doing.
After some
questioning I discover the boy is epileptic and was put on Epilim which
controlled his fitting. All was well until the doctor said he could no longer
have Epilim and would have to have Valex syrup. This does control the fits but
has had drastic side effects and reduced him to his current mental state where
he relates to nothing or anybody. Epilim is around 500 Maluti a month and the
family can’t afford it. The doctor says he can only supply Valex.
The
grandparents are between a rock and a hard place and look at me helplessly. I am
used to thinking on my feet but have no idea what to say to them as their
grandson continues to crash around the room. I decide to phone a friend and
fortunately Owen picks in the middle of a training program for mental health
somewhere in Lesotho. He advises me there may be other medication options, and
the mental health unit at Hlotse hospital might be able to help if the
grandparents take him there.
The
grandparents gratefully receive the advice. What the boy really needs is an
expert in mental health, or paediatrician, not a physiotherapist. At the end of
the day the need for specialist care for certain problems is reinforced. The
little girl with the festering club foot and Spina bifida is still in desperate
need of a swab to identify the bacteria and get the right antibiotic. Not only
that but she is doubly incontinent and has terrible diarrhoea. I write clearly
in her Bukana that her faeces need to be tested for bacterial infection, possibly
E coli (which she has a past history of) as well as a swab taken from the foot.
The lady who
takes the children to the hospital clinic arrives back and solemnly hands me
the Bukana. I open it to find no swabs or samples have been taken, only the
insane suggestion that Nthofela undergoes toilet training. I swear and only
just manage to resist my desire to rip the Bukana to pieces and stamp on it.
How I wish I could speak to a doctor that knows what they are doing and get the
right treatment for this child.
I walk
slowly up the track to my hut and share my last Maluti with Mahali. Yes, it was
all worthwhile, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Copy and
paste the above link for Best physiotherapy moments and dance moves of Lesotho
2018
No comments:
Post a Comment