Day 4: A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Nicole, a four year old girl, holding Sarah's thumb

Today the emotions and lack of sleep began to take their toll, causing us to sleep in, missing workouts and breakfast. Our translators are also feeling the same way due to the busy schedule and high level of emotion throughout each day. When we arrived at the orphanage, we again split ourselves up among the floors. Sarah and Valdora went to meet with Laura, the autism specialist for the center, to observe one of her sessions and to brainstorm with her how best to help the children she sees. She has only been working with kids with autism since she started in the center in March. She has a nursing background with no other formal training in this population. But, after speaking with her and observing with her, it is clear that she has devoted her time to researching and learning how to meet the needs of these kids with autism to improve their quality of life. She was extremely receptive and eager to hear our ideas and input after having worked with the children for the past two days. Sarah and Valdora were moved to tears at the bonds that Laura had already formed with this special group of children.

Cristina started with the kids in wheelchairs from the first module whom she has been working with consistently since the beginning of the week. She was approached by the caregiver who asked her if she wanted to bring the kids outside into the garden to play. Cristina happily obliged and they all gathered outside to enjoy the beautiful Sibiu weather. All the children were transferred out of their wheelchairs to the benches or gait trainers so they could better engage with each other. All the children played games, took pictures, and sang songs. Dana, one of the older girls with CP, who had not walked prior to our arrival, and was only transferring to different surfaces from her chair, was able to climb up and slide down the slide with assistance, and walked from the outside to the inside classroom with some help from Cristina, beaming with happiness for what she had accomplished.

Mini and Cotruca blowing up balloons

 Ashley worked with her translator Ema on the third module which houses all the babies. Ashley was able to get the 14 year old boy with the visual impairment out of his crib and work on providing calming sensation, stretching, and massage to improve his alignment and decrease his pain. His usual behavior involves crying out in pain in his crib, hitting himself with his fists, and staying in one position of comfort. By the end of the session, he had tolerated 30 minutes of handling, hardly even crying out in pain. Another child Andre, with down syndrome, was also able to demonstrate the ability to stand from a small chair by pulling up, and walk with his hands held which he had not ever done before. Ashley was also able to continue teaching Ema several techniques she could use to help and that she could teach to her classmates to continue the work we are starting at the center this week.

Cotruca helps the other kids put on their braces and shoes

For a special treat, we were given the opportunity to travel to Debbie's camp that she runs for kids in Sibiu who live in the orphanage. The camp was situated in the middle of the mountains, with a running stream beside it. We were greeted by all the kids, running up to us, and trying to speak to us in English. They wanted us all to join in on their soccer or volleyball games, talk to them, or simply sit by them. We ate lunch with all the campers in the mess hall, eating a traditional Romanian meal of soup, meatballs, tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes with fresh baked bread. Ema told us that the children look forward to camp every year, and cry when they have to leave. We were so happy to have the chance to meet and play with these kids and wished we could stay all day to have fun with them. On our way back to Sibiu with the Romanian director of Heart of Hope, we had quite the tour and were able to meet some real live gypsies...

Camp with the kids!

After we returned to the orphanage in the afternoon, Cristina was led to the first module by Cotruca, one of the little girls she had been working with. She wanted to show Cristina that everyone was positioned correctly as Cristina had instructed before she left. Karina, one of the little girls with severe Cerebral Palsy, was sitting on her own for the first time without help. One of the biggest challenges facing the caregivers as we said before was transferring these bigger children into the shower. We purchased a garden chair for the shower and Cristina was able to instruct the caregiver on proper body mechanics to transfer each child into the shower chair. The caregiver was so thankful for the help and the children were able to transfer beautifully without difficulty and remain sitting independently. They finished their afternoon with a yoga session, with all the kids laughing and having so much fun.

Cristina with Mini and Dana

Valdora, Ashley, and Sarah returned to treat the babies in the third module, to continue working on oral motor and gross motor skills. While we were working with all the children in one room on the floor, the caregiver walked in and said, "This is such a happy room." All the children were interacting and playing with each other, which they most likely have never done before our arrival. The progress we have observed over the past couple days is unbelievably fast and simply amazing. We have all never seen such progression throughout our entire careers as therapists and are so blessed to have the opportunity to observe it here in Romania.

Ashley with Paula and Sarah with Isabella

We ended our night with an outstanding dinner yet again at an Italian restaurant called Max. Here in Romania, dinner is said to be a "social experience"and is meant to be savored. There is not a rush and no cell phones at the table. We have learned to embrace this philosophy and find it quite refreshing. Cheers until tomorrow. Buna Seara!

Sarah with Ana and Ema at camp