May 21-28, 2008

A team of 12 Occupational Therapy students from the University of Puget Sound came to the Mazatlan Hub one week after their classes left our for the summer. The team was hard working, energetic, knowledgeable and ready to learn more. The students were able to participate in many equestrian therapy sessions at the Hub. The on-site therapists worked with the students and taught them theories, techniques and exercises to use with the children they were working with. The students were able to get onto the horses and guide the children through their exercises with the guidance on the on-site therapists. Some of the students had never been on a horse before but ready to learn, they jumped on up and started helping with the therapy.

The students also individually seated 30 people in wheelchairs during their week in Mazatlan. They also conducted home visits where the team brought equipment and therapeutic interventions to people who were unable to leave their homes. An amazing story from their week was when the team visited Oscar's house. Oscar was a 50 year old man who was disabled due to discinigrating vertebrae in his spine. His 80 year old mother was taking care of him and he had not left his bed in over a year. When the team arrived at his home he was overjoyed to see them. The team worked with Oscar for a few hours, got him sitting up in bed, helped him move himself in bed, and transferred him into his new wheelchair. Then the team took Oscar out onto the sidewalk in front of his home where he and his mother burst out in tears. Oscar had not felt sunlight on his skin in over a year and he was ecstatic to be outside again. Later that week the team returned to Oscar's home and continued to teach him more therapy exercises to help him get stronger, how to transfer himself from his bed to his wheelchair, how to shower safely and addressed other concerns. We are happy to report that Oscar is doing well and is getting stronger every day.

Team 7 also observed, learned and participated in therapies inside the children's rehabilitation center with the on-site therapists, learned about different therapy techniques and shared ideas and techniques that they had learned in school.

The team fabricated switches that are used to aide children with communication problems in expressing their wants and needs. They created over 10 switches that will be used in the therapy center later this year.

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