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FROM THE FIELD
Bandaged Angels
05 Jan 2007 15:08:00 GMT
Source: Association of Volunteers in International Service (AVSI) - Italy
Valentina Frigerio
Website: Website: http://www.avsi.org
"Fly, fly! Fly like the owl!", the physiotherapist says to Emmanuel, opening her arms and moving them up and down, simulating the flight of a bird, provoking him to do the same. The exercise helps to check Emmanuel's balance while he is positioned on a structure that allows him to stand even without strength in his legs. He looks at the physiotherapist and at the plastic owl in front of him and, with all his effort, eyes focused and tongue squeezed in his mouth, he tries to flap his arms, the only part of his body that, together with the head, he is still able to move. Emmanuel is four years old. Last August, he fell off of a mango tree, which resulted in a severe spinal lesion. Since that day, he has been paralyzed in his lower limbs. He was taken to Lacor Hospital in Gulu from Adjumani, his place of origin and where the accident occurred.
"When we first met him he was totally paralyzed", Luisa, an AVSI physiotherapist, explains. "But then, through different interventions, we made him at least to start moving the upper parts of his body which were not damaged by the accident". While Luisa is talking, Emmanuel's grandfather is taking over the task of showing the child how to move his arms. Looking at the tenderness he has with Emmanuel, it is difficult to notice the traces that remain on his face of his past as a soldier in the Ugandan military force. He knew AVSI before Emmanuel's accident, as last year he received a prosthesis from the Gulu Orthopaedic Workshop which is supported by AVSI for the left leg he lost in combat. Now he is the one taking care of the grandchild, as the father is very young, does not speak English or Lwo and is not very cooperative. "For the parents it has been very difficult to accept the new condition of the child", Taddeus, another AVSI physiotherapist explains. "In many cases, actually, the greatest challenge is to counsel and educate the parents more than the paralyzed patients themselves, as it is very difficult to accept to have to take care of a person so carefully". o counsel and educate the parents more than the paralyzed patients themselves, as it is very difficult to accept to have to take care of a person so carefully".
The major problem for paraplegic patients, who remain bound to the bed or chair, is the development of pressure sores, which can be avoided by changing position every 30 minutes at least; if you forget once, then the recovery may take months. That is how AVSI started to support these patients. Father Elio Croce, a Comboni brother living in Gulu, was making daily visits to patients at Lacor Hospital. When he got to know the first paralyzed patients, he started dressing their pressure sores. But he found that it was useless; the patients needed a constant presence taking care of them, educating them not to forget to move often, and teaching them how to monitor their urine and stools in order to remain clean and dry. "We have to keep all of them in the surgery ward", Luisa, the programme manager of the AVSI project focusing on paralyzed patients, explains. "Because we want to treat the patients in their acute phase. They are then taken to the Consolation Home, where they can live in clean houses with other disabled patients and where they can receive medical, rehabilitation and counselling services, together with an attendant, usually a close relative. After all the process, they are able to go back home and live independently". led patients and where they can receive medical, rehabilitation and counselling services, together with an attendant, usually a close relative. After all the process, they are able to go back home and live independently".
The pink whistle stands out on Karai's chest. He is very proud of it. He is the referee when the disabled children at the Consolation Home play netball. For him, it occurred the same way as for Emmanuel; he fell from a tree while playing with friends, but the damage was more serious. Karai suffered a C4 cervical lesion, and now he is able to move only his head and shoulders. After the accident, he was taken to Gulu for treatment. We find him at the Gulu Youth Demonstration Center (GYDA), where Francis, the one in charge of wheelchair production, is working on a modification of Karai`s "village wheelchair", a chair with a small extra wheel in front, making it able to move freely on the tortuous roads of the village. Francis is now adding an extra piece of wood to the little table to sustain the child's elbow. Karai is waiting patiently. It is clear that he is used to waiting for others to act. His father is now taking care of him. "It took a long time for him to understand his role", Luisa explains. "At the beginning Karai was crying desperately every day. When we first gave him a thermic mattress, in order to avoid the development of pressure sores, the father told him that we wanted him to get burnt. He was not moving Karai, nor changing his catheter. He finally left him in Gulu, alone with his old mother. AVSI staff started working closely with Karai, providing rehabilitation at St. Jude Consolation Home, counselling services and the company of other paralyzed children. Then Karai stopped crying. The father came back and, surprised by the change in his son, started to take care of him. So much so that next week they will return to their own village able now to take care of themselves alone". eginning Karai was crying desperately every day. When we first gave him a thermic mattress, in order to avoid the development of pressure sores, the father told him that we wanted him to get burnt. He was not moving Karai, nor changing his catheter. He finally left him in Gulu, alone with his old mother. AVSI staff started working closely with Karai, providing rehabilitation at St. Jude Consolation Home, counselling services and the company of other paralyzed children. Then Karai stopped crying. The father came back and, surprised by the change in his son, started to take care of him. So much so that next week they will return to their own village able now to take care of themselves alone".
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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Last updated:Fri Jan 5 15:17:49 2007
