“My group distributed regarding 80 wheelchairs and spent upwards of three to 5 hours along with one chair so it fits perfectly,” said Pleasanton resident Holly Micheff, an occupational therapist, that made the trip in November along with Wheels for the World. “Some of them had been waiting for chairs for upwards of 5 years. They were all ages.”
Sixteen volunteers made the trip last fall, separating in to groups to travel to different portions of Thailand, each along with a mechanic, an occupational therapist, a translator and a support person to fill out a questionnaire along with the family.
“Some of the mechanics on our group have actually been doing it for over 20 years, and they’ve made a manual and a whole tool kit,” Micheff explained throughout a recent interview. “One of the main portions is teaching them regarding safety and maintenance of the wheelchair.”
Micheff, a 2008 Foothill Higher grad, earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Dominican University after graduating from UC San Diego. She began working at California Children’s Services in Alameda County in Might after receiving her license, and she was hired as a permanent staff pediatric occupational therapist last month.
“A pediatric occupational therapist is a person that helps children defeat disabilities and achieve optimal independence,” Micheff said.
She works to tips people perform day-to-day tasks, from brushing their teeth to going to a job.
“Those along with disabilities might be held spine by bodily or emotional or a psychological-social component,” Micheff said. “We job along with clients to identify what’s limiting them. We provide them workouts or others adaptive equipment that can easily tips them be independent.”
Then in the fall, she heard regarding an opportunity at Joni and Friends, an global ministry to tips those along with disabilities. Its Wheels for the Globe program collects used wheelchairs from throughout the United States, has actually them refurbished by prison inmates, and then sends volunteers overseas to distribute them.
“A dear friend of mine was at a Joni and Friends retreat and heard an announcement that Wheels for the Globe were going to Thailand and called for an occupational therapist,” Micheff said. “My friend immediately believed of me.”
After being accepted in to the program, Micheff went in to overdrive to increase the $3,000 called for to cover the flight and living expenses for 2 1/2 weeks.
“My family and friends all came through,” she said.
On the trip, the volunteers partnered along with Thai Rotary and the local church — a minority in Thailand, which is 95% Buddhist. They additionally distributed Bibles written in Thai.
“Our mission was not to convert them yet to prove to them we’re here because we care regarding you and enjoy you, and we believe our God loves us so much that we are attributing just what we’re doing to our God,” Micheff said.
This suggestion could be difficult to convey, she noted, because Buddhism is based on merit quite compared to “the concept of God.”
Micheff said the last person she fitted was a little girl that had been a healthy and balanced Kid until the age of 4 as soon as she was bitten by a dog. Doctors believe this resulted in some kind of brain infection, which caused muscle impairment and quadriplegia.
“just what touched my heart so much — and it actually opened my eyes to the reason in Thailand, and I’m sure several countries — is she can’t move her muscles to consume by mouth anymore,” Micheff said. “She was so malnourished, I had to step away for a second.”
The girl had been lying down for the 6 years since the incident, which resulted in scoliosis, common in such cases, Micheff said. They got her sitting in the chair, which will certainly at least provide her the most effective life she could chance for and the most effective pose for her body.
“She has actually a pretty loving, supportive family,” Micheff said. “I was attempting to educate the mom on exactly how to maximize her calorie intake.”
Micheff returned from Thailand energized, and she hopes her experience will certainly inspire others.
“I was able to tips this girl in a actually tangible way,” she said. “I left there along with this desire to do more.”
“Living in America, it’s so straightforward to believe material points bring us satisfaction yet then we see people enjoy that yet that are a lot more joyful,” Micheff reflected. “just what actually matters is relationships and connecting along with people and investing in people.”
She is confident that brand-new opportunities to tips others will certainly open up and meanwhile has actually the task she constantly dreamed of at California Children’s Services.
“I’m flabbergasted sometimes, the overlap between my job and the opportunity I had to go to Thailand,” she said. “It’s cool as soon as you feel you’re where you’re supposed to be, doing just what you enjoy and loving just what you do.”
from Golden Land Travel http://ift.tt/1QiRTJZ
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