Push International hosted a team of 13 occupational therapy students from the University of Puget Sound.  This was a trip of great events.  When we arrived we were meet with the newly completed " Push International" wheelchair warehouse.  The warehouse was a wonderful sight all painted up with the Push logo.  This is another demonstration of the commitment to the Push goal of sustainable mobility to the disabled community.

Push's passion is to provide mobility to those who in the past may have found themselves locked into their own homes.  Mobility can take many different approaches.  Historically, the primary focus of Push International has been distribution of wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.  On this trip mobility took some different steps.  Padres Y Compadres has hosted a Physical Therapist, Pete, for many years. He has worked with the children and mothers of Padres y Compadres, teaching them therapy techniques to maximize the rehab potential of each child.  On this trip we were able to meet Peter for the first time.  Peter was very pleased to introduce the therapy team to the treatment technique of Vojta Therapy, an Eastern European Therapy approach to help children move on their own.  This technique is not currently taught in the United States so this was a great opportunity for the therapy students to see.

Push also took a new step on this trip.  We were able to cast the lower legs of a young man to make custom braces.  Many children have difficulty positioning their legs in the correct way to walk.  The goal of bracing is to place the legs in the appropriate position to allow the child to walk with the least amount of help and the most independence.  So, on our first evening here, Leo a 10 year old young man with cerebral palsy and blindness enthusiastically volunteered to be casted.  The therapy team was able to observe the casting.  The casts were sent to a lab in the United States, fabricated and 3 weeks later, Leo was fit with his new braces. Only time will tell if the braces will help Leo to walk independently but on that night Leo was taking his first steps on his own.

This was a first step for Push as well.  Bracing can only be a successful option for independent mobility when it is a sustainable program.  This complements our wheelchair distribution program.  The goal is always to provide the knowledge, skills, and tools to the communities we serve so that mobility is a gift for a lifetime.

Read more recent events!

Read about upcoming events!