Babies, Ceilings and Pho, Oh My

Good morning, from Vietnam!  Although it's Saturday, fairly early, I am up, Amy has gone out for a walk, I have done some pilates and thought I would do an update now.  A nap will definitely be on my 'schedule' for later on today!!

Well, again, the rains hit the Mekong Delta quite heavily yesterday, although stopped in time for the streets to de-flood themselves before we left the Children's Hospital.  We completed our 2nd day with the babies and children and overall it was a good day.  When we arrived in the morning, expecting to see a full slate of babies/children for the day, Bac Si Phuong informed us that she would be leaving the hospital from 1-330p to attend her University class, as she is getting her PhD.  She then said that we would not see any patients during this time, but she would like us to talk with her staff about 'topics'.  Amy then diplomatically asked Dr. Phuong what topics did she want us to discuss with her staff and Dr. Phuong didn't say anything.  So, Amy then said that we can discuss any topic that Dr. Phuong would like us to discuss with her staff.  (turning in circles..)

So, she finally settled on us talking about how to stop babies under the age of 12 months from drooling (huh?) and exercises for children with cerebral palsy (a little general, but at least a direction to follow) and we then asked if there would be children for us to demonstrate these 'magical exercises' on during this time?  No...but when pressed she said there were a couple of babies who could come during that time, so we both said, "Yes, please!" and so that was done.  Baby steps...baby steps...

We then asked to talk about what we would be doing on Monday (our final day with them) and she said there would be no patients for us to see, as they don't see patients on Monday, but rather she wants to take us to their ICU to work with a couple of babies with atelectasis (a lung condition commonly seen in preemies) ~ sigh ~ and then to show us their orthopedic surgery department.  After some discussion, she agreed to have a few patients come in for us to treat ~ having patients there to demonstrate treatment ideas/techniques on is a better teaching tool than just talking ~ and we will also do those 2 other things she is requesting.

I will have to 'steel' myself a bit over the weekend to prepare to go into their ICU again.  Amy and I went in 2004 and it was a very sad situation.  In Vietnam, babies born prior to 28 weeks typically don't survive (40 weeks of gestation is normal).  The last time we entered their ICU they had only 2 ventilators and so the sickest babies got those and the rest of the babies were on their own and weren't doing well.  If I remember correctly, they might be able to give some of the babies a little oxygen throughout the day, but it's not a consistent thing, so it's truly 'survival of the fittest.'  We'll see what we can do to help...not sure, but we'll try!

Deep breath...new topic...

So, the kiddos/babies we did see yesterday were very interesting and overall tolerated these 2 much larger, white ladies to hold them and handle them.  Some kiddos are quite scared of us, but some do alright.  We try not to overwhelm them if they are scared and it's a good opportunity to teach the parents how to handle their kids.

This is an 18 month old little boy with cerebral palsy who was a very smart and tolerant little boy.  We worked on improving his sitting posture, transitions from sit to stand at a table and Amy worked with him on his oral control and sound production.

He was super-cute and so game for anything we tried.  Anytime he saw the camera...he would stop and give a winning smile!!

This 5 year old had a brachial plexus injury ~ basically, the nerves coming off of his spinal cord in his neck region got stretched during birth and damaged, so his left arm does not work very well.  His shoulder was slight subluxed and so I used some kinesiotape to try and give his shoulder some better stability.

He will return on Monday, so we can see how he tolerated the tape and then teach his mother to tape him.  Very nice little boy!

This 18 month old little boy has a seizure disorder (we think), although it was difficult to figure out (even with translation) when his last seizure occurred. 


He was doing some nice things though...we worked on his standing at a table and also on teaching him how to creep on his hands and knees so he would have some mobility at home.  He wasn't happy with me, but was able to do do it nonetheless.  He was a sweet little boy!

This 10 month old with spina bifida was a spunky little girl!  She was all over the place ~ awesome ~ and was very curious about us and all of the other children.  She is able to creep and is pulling herself to standing.  Her feet are a bit wacky, due to her spina bifida, when she is standing, but she has some muscle control that through exercise should support her well.  She will learn to walk!

We will see her again when we return in the future!  So adorable!!

Here is my little friend again with spina bifida (see above).  I had to include this photo, as it was just too funny for words.

I was working with another child and she climbed onto the table and was simply 'hanging-out.'

So spunky!!!

Can I bring her home???  Seriously, this 10 month old baby girl was born with some brain abnormalities, so would technically have a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.  She was brought to the hospital by her grandparents, as her parents were working, and they were so lovely and grandpa spoke English with me as well.  :)

She is learning to roll and to push up onto her hands while on her tummy, as well as is learning to sit.  She was so tolerant of our handling and was super-social and smiley.

Amy and I both were so entralled with her!  She has some great potential and hopefully we were able to give the family enough ideas and activities to do while she grows to foster this potential.

They live about 50km from Can Tho in a rural village, so she will not have access to therapy on a regular basis.  So darling!!


After seeing these patients, we did discuss treatment ideas/exercises to do with infants and children with CP.  We also presented all of the toys and other items we brought for them and demonstrated how each item can be used during treatment.  The staff did engage and asked some good questions.

After returning to our hotel and showering before dinner, we set-out to have dinner with Tina and Theresa (2 of the nurses).  When we arrived in the lobby of the hotel, great reconstruction of the ceiling was under-way.  Hopefully they found where the leak was before putting up a new ceiling!?!?

We then returned to a Com Chay restaurant for dinner.  Com Chay means 'vegeterian' in Vietnamese.  We dined here earlier in the week and it was super-yummy, so we went back again!!  Amy is a vegetarian and for all intents and purposes, so am I while I am here, as they have a very pork-heavy diet.  We both eat fish too, so it works out well, but at this restaurant, it's all vegetarian!

So, Amy and I had the Pho, which is a super-delicious noodle soup and I also had a glass of freshly-squeezed pomelo juice!!!  I have a feeling we will be returning to this place several times this weekend!

When we arrived, we had forgotten the typically close around 7 or 730p, but they were insistent on feeding us.  In the front part of their store, all of the tables were filled with locals eating and in the back was their entire family dining together.  They cleared a place for us, as some diners were done with their meal, and we were sitting and chatting.  Next thing we know, Meir and Fruma Nyska pop-out of the back part of the restaurant (where the family was dining) and they had been dining with them all!  Meir was super-excited (as he always is) and said it felt just like Friday night dinners with his family back in Israel.  Perfect!!

I just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and have fired-up my Kindle.  I have started reading The Girl who Played with Fire and am excited to keep reading!!  Highly recommend these books!!

We have also finalized our travel plans for the final week of our time here in Vietnam.  We will leave Can Tho on Tuesday, the 23rd, and travel to Saigon.  We will work at the Pediatric Hospital #1 the 24th - 26th.  We have decided to stay in Saigon an extra day, the 27th, so we can go exploring and hit the Benh Than Market.  We then decided it's time to flee the heat/humidity of the south and head to cooler, less sticky climes!

On the 28th (Sunday), we will fly from Saigon to Hue (in the central highlands region of Vietnam) and spend 3 days there.  We will stay at a hotel that overlooks the Perfume River.  Hopefully, the Perfume River smells good...we'll see!!

On Wednesday, the 1st of December (eek!), we will fly to Hanoi and spend our final 4 days there.  We are excited to see Hue for the 1st time and to return to Hanoi...which is celebrating its 1000 year as a city!!  Wow...apparently there are lots of celebratory activities going on in Hanoi right now.  :)  We then leave Hanoi on December 4th to head back to the US.

Take care...stay warm (!!)...and I'll post more later!

xoxo
Stacy