A Day at the Children's Hospital

Today we got to visit the regional children's hospital. It was a great day for us! The director and head doctor at the hospital were very welcoming, as well as all of the other doctors and nurses. Their hospital is a very big hospital, and they serve orphans as well as children with their families. We first visited the infant room. We talked about swaddling children with their hands close their face instead of down at their sides. We talked about massage and positioning. They were very excited about the bendy bumpers, gel pads, swaddler pads. We also talked about feeding and pacifiers v. thumbs. :)

We next went to the neurology part of the hospital, and they had us go into a big room that was sunny and had a ball and a few small toys. They began bringing children to us to work with. We saw at least 7 children. The PT's casted 2 of them and worked on massage, positioning, and weight-bearing. I talked about some oral motor things.

We're running out of time here in the lab, so I'm going to refer you to Karen's blog again for more notes on today's events.

These pictures are from the orphan rooms of the hospital. Enjoy them!

Kym playing with a little boy.

Karen talking to a little boy who had just awakened from a nap.

This little guy was so serious, but Kym got him to smile some while playing with some toys.




Kate demonstrating how to wrap infants. This little guy was not an easy one to wrap. He kept busting out of it, but after using 2 blankets, Kate was able to get him.

This little boy had the hiccups for a long time. His face is a little red from the hiccuping.

The staff who work with the orphans at the hospital were very happy to have us there. They took lots of pictures themselves.

Kate found another cutie!

Kate, Amanda, and Karen in the infant room of the orphan part of the hospital.

Here's another picture of the little guy Kate attempted to wrap for swaddling. His hair stuck up everywhere. It was the sweetest thing! I couldn't stop playing with the hair.

And again with Karen. This little boy has his papers ready to go to the orphanage, but is still in the hospital because he has pneumonia.

Tomorrow we have to deal with a somewhat legal situation. A visitor - of course we were not told who - at the orphanage the day we did our presentations or demonstrations filed a complaint about our work with orphans. Apparently we were given permission to be in the country to work with "children," not "orphans". So we have to sign some paperwork with a notary tomorrow and provide all of our documentation, which we sent prior to coming. Please be in prayer that this goes well, and that the outcome is the Lord's will. It shouldn't be a problem, but prayer always helps!