Speech Therapy.... continued!

Therapy- where ever we can find space!

FOOD!!

 The Food for lunch and dinner for the team, has been prepared and provided by the local Rotarians, Red Cross volunteers and the Mayor!  We have been incredibly well fed with local food freshly prepared for our meals at the hospital!  I will try and add some names to the food below (only a small sample of the dishes we have eaten this first week!)  I have had rice at EVERY meal (breakfast- at our hotel; lunch and dinner - at the hospital; and 2 evenings as guests at the Mayor's home.)  The "Luchon" (roasted pig) is very popular for a special dinner and we have been served it on three evenings now (the First night at the Rotarian's Fellowship dinner for us and 2 nights at the Mayor's).  Last night as guest of the Mayor's (with about 40 of her family and friends) one of the Mayor's sister-in-laws compared their presentation of "luchon" to our roasted turkey- good comparison!  But still seems strange to have the WHOLE PIG present!

 Rice - of course!  And a "vegatable" dish... was like split pea soup and included other blended local vegatables.

 MANGOS, MANGOS and MORE MANGOS!  The best I've ever had! And a TEAM favorite in the break room!

 These Bibingkitas tasted like souffles- are rice cakes with eggs and spinkled with sugar and seasoning- quite delicious!

 Even though last year I just could quite eat (or figure out) the fish with the heads on....it was delicious (once we got around the bones!)  Another wonderful lunch provided to keep the team- especially the OR staff- nourished!  THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING UNTIL WELL INTO THE NIGHT TO GET THE CHILDREN THEIR SURGERIES!  THE FOOD HAS BEEN A BLESSING TO KEEP THEM ALL GOING!  And Susan and I too- although we usually get back to our hotel earlier than the OR staff- about 7:30 PM.

 This is a fruit here that looks like a large turkey leg with marshmellows attached! The fruit is picked off and very sweet! I can't remember how to spell the name!

LUCHON- that poor roasted pig!  (Have to admit it's tasty to us carnivores!!

Speech Therapy, days 3 and 4!

 Elma working on her speech sounds!  Elma was with us last year- very Quiet and Shy then...!  This week, day 3 she decided we were OK...and she has been "talking" ever since! Her little brother and mom are with her (they traveled from their north Island of Negros to get here by bus and ferry!) On their first day her brother (4 years old) had what appeared to be an asthma attack, which turned into pneumonia!! ICSF paid for his antibiotics; it's a financial strain for these families to get medical care of any kind. Had they been at home, it could have been much worse! He was in the hospital the first 3 days- once mom returned to stay with Elma- she was MUCH more cooperative to TALK in speech therapy! He has recovered and is now joining us in therapy! He has no speech needs; he is a little leader!

Luziel, hard at work! The children from Negros speak Ilongo which is  a completely different dialect/language than the children here in Mindanao. They learn and speak English in school but with limited use.  Luziel is 6 years old and can print her name (LONG name) to perfection!

Fhebie is reading from an atlas we brought with us thanks to donation from families in my office and my sister!  She can read beautifully in English although she speaks does not speak it.  Every afternoon when we see the children at the church (that they are staying at for 2 weeks) she greets us with "Good afternoon Mam. Susan Stempel and Mam. Theresa Snelling"!  She is very proud of her greeting!1

Angelyn (aka "Tata") was with us last year and has grown in leaps and bounds!  She has excellent penmanship, improved speech and is quite the leader in the group!  She was trying to teach Tarah (below) how to "pop her lips" for a speech sound!  Such a sweet girl who has had a difficult life, but has the perserverance of warrior!

Tarah is new to our group this year. She had her palate repaired three months ago!  Her speech has progressed amazingly in one week!  We get one more week and then I think her speech will continue to get better and better with time!

THERAPY DAY!

Susan and I were busy with therapy and on-going screenings today!  3 children from last year continued to show good speech as a result of their surgery in 2010!  5 children from last year's therapy group arrived for follow-up and are now on our list to recieve therapy for 2 weeks!  Last year 6 of the children came over from Kabankalan, on the island of Negros (a day's trip) for daily speech therapy. 4 of those children have returned this year (Angelyne "Tata", Fhebie, Luziel, Elma) with another child, who had her palate repaired in May, joining us from Negros as well.  We will see them twice a day; they are staying in the education center of a local church. They greeted us late this afternoon with "Good afternoon Mum Theresa Snelling and Mum Susan Stempel." Then they set up the preschool table in their temporary home and were ready for speech therapy.   Above, meet , Luziel, Elma, Tarah,Tata, and Fhebie (top to bottom.)   They are a joy to work with- except it doesn't feel like 'work' at all!

Some familiar faces!

 Chrina (at top), age 17,  had her palate repaired last year and will get some speech therapy for the next 2 weeks, as well as her little brother! 

  This is Frances who I saw last year on the ward after her palater repair! She was very reluctant to participate in any "testing" during screening.  Therapy will include more PLAY so today with be fun!

DAY 1-Screening Day for surgery and speech therapy! THE NUMBER OF BABIES UNDER 12 MONTHS WAS UNBELIEVABLE!  MOST WERE UNDER 5! Last year there were many more older children!  THERE WERE 60 NEW PATIENTS TO BE SCREENED FOR SURGERY! Too many for Dr. Williams to do in his 2 1/2 weeks here, so he scheduled about 40 and then added a mission back here in October to take care of the other 20!  He does not want to send them home without hope!  They get a surgery date even if it is for 3 months away!

Dr. Williams, Dr. Marchand (anesthesiologist), with clinical coordinator/nurse Flor, screened the 60 children today with the help of hospital nurses, Rotarians, Red Cross volunteers and speech pathologists!  Susan and I screened 20 children for speech. About 4 of the patients from last year will come back this week and next for speech therapy, who had palate repairs last year. A few others need speech therapy but live to far to stay the whole week or two, so we saw them yesterday for therapy and they will return for 1-4 visits over the next 2 weeks. 

3 of the children and normal speech and voice quality and don't need any speech therapy as a result of having their palates repaired here last year!  Great palate repairs by Dr. Williams!

Today, Susan and I begin the task of screening 14 more children from last year who had speech therapy!  Hopefully a few more of the 14 who had surgery last July also stop by for speech screening.  We have children starting therapy this morning at 8 AM in addition to the speech screenings- going to be a busy day!

We took MANY, MANY more pictures but my computer loads them so slowly and our internet access is fleeting at times, this is what I could load more quickly!
More to come....

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Dinner with Rotarians!

Sunday July 15th~  The Rotarians hosted a dinner for the team and members of the sponsoring Rotary!  The "pig" is "Luchon" (roasted pig) and is quite a special feast.  For those of you who are vegetarians- please skip over the pictures of the "pig"- the BEFORE and AFTER!  It was yummy!

However, Susan has spent the day (Monday) with a stomach problem and we are blaming it on the fat of the "pig" below.  No more "Luchon" for Susan!

We also found out that they ARE moving us to the hotel from last year.  With all the books and toys and "stuff" we brought- it won't be easy.  We're just ready to see the Children!!