Sunday

Yesterday was Saturday and we went into town. I was walking with Dr. Tullos for most of the market and he lead us through an indoor market that was selling a lot of dried fish and I could barely stand the smell. Their market is so different and they sell such a variety of things. The first time we went to the market, I was not expecting to see Miley Cyrus bags and US Presidential memorabilia. After we got back, we played soccer the fun way which is only half field and one team plays offence and one team plays defense for 5 minutes and then you switch. I scored another goal which was a lot of fun.
Today we went to church and I went to children’s church and lead “In the Beginning” which apparently they like a lot. On Sundays we cook for ourselves so breakfast is usually ceral or instant oatmeal and we are divided into 2 groups for lunch and dinner. One group cooks and the other cleans and vice versa for other meal.

I can’t believe it’s half way over. Zambia is such a cool place to be. That is about all I can think of right now, so until next time…
Much Love,
Shanna

Great day for Quityn

Quityn rolled over today!!!! He rolled from tummy to back and then sat in the bumbo seat and was able to keep his head up. I didn’t have to give him any extra support. I am so proud of him. I walked him around after he rolled over like he was a champion.

GOAL!!!

Today therapy was great.  Quityn was turned completely on his side and had his leg propped over the bed next to him.  Leo crawled all the way across the floor and that was his first time crawling.  It

So Liz and I scored a soccer goal against Zambian's yesterday.  It was pretty awesome!

Limited internet, so that is all for now...
Much Love,
Shanna

New Week

This week, I am on BWeave’s team and we are working on pediatric swallowing. I have only been doing this for 2 days so far but I have seen improvements already. We have an extremely floppy 8 month old named Heath who was reaching for objects today with both hands. Lincoln, an 8 month old, rolled over today for the first time, and Joel, I can’t remember his age at the moment, almost rolled over. After lunch, I worked in Nichole who is a precious little 1 ½ month old. She worked really hard and fell asleep sucking the pacifier. We are using the tools that we got when Caroline came to speak to us. We start by singing to the kids and using their arms and legs for the motions and we rub their arms, legs, back, and stomach to stimulates the muscles, and then put them on their stomach for tummy time to increase head control and muscle tone. We use the Nuk brush and the Z-Vibe on their cheeks and lips and then follow with Buccal stretches, upper lip stretches, lower lip stretches, and C-stretches inside their mouths. We also try to get the kids to suck on a pacifier to work on sucking.

We have a class blog at http://csdinzambia.blogspot.com/ so check it out if you get a chance.  I wrote today's blog :)

Much Love,
Shanna

New group

Before I talk about therapy today. I forgot to write about something that happened last week. Last week I was on Triple D’s team and we had an hour that we worked with special needs children at the Haven. There is a man that walks around who used to be a preacher but has had a stroke and now has a fluent aphasia and is always preaching (doesn’t make sense sine it is a fluent aphasia) and is always loud. One day last week, I think Wednesday, Tessa, Jill, and I sat out on the porch of Haven 2 (toddlers) and worked with our special needs client. The man stood there for at least 45 minutes and never said a word. He just watched us interact with kids. After we were done and took the children back inside he spoke to us as we walked by in Tongan and Dr. Tullos said I feel like he just gave us a blessing. Even if we spoke Tongan we still probably would not have know what he said but that was a really neat experience.

Today, I started on BWeave’s team with pediatric swallowing. It was a new experience. We got to use the stuff in our dysphasia bags we got when Caroline came and spoke to us. I had 2 children who were both developmentally behind. One is 8 months and can’t even grip my finger with any type of firmness. After I was with the 2 swallowing clients in Haven 3 (sick house), I went over to Haven 1 (infants) and worked with a little 2 month old who was holding her head up and almost completely over. Of course, I checked on Quityn who was rolled a little on his side while sleeping which is the first time I have seen him not laying completely on his back while sleeping. After lunch, we did another swallowing group and I had Virginia who loved the Z-Vibe. She could have sat there all day with the Z-Vibe on her face. After the last swallowing group, we have language enrichment and I played with Memory today for the first time. I have seen others play with her but today was the first for me. She is about 15 months or so and she was imitating some sounds. Now, I am sitting here at the table before supper and just relaxing, and because of that, I am done with my blog today.

Until tomorrow or the next…
Much Love,
Shanna

Rest Day

Today, Jack, who was scared to death of white people, played soccer with us and then came and taught Ashley how to play speed after supper and played a round of speed with me as well. To me, that was the most exciting part of the day. I was so proud of him for taking that step and letting go of some of that fear. Dr. Tullos sat by him in the jeep earlier this week when we gave him a ride from the Havens to the houses, and said he literally shook the whole way. I am so glad that I got to be part of that. J

I also went to Haven 1 today and got to see my boy Quityn which made me happy.

And I also got to wash spaghetti dishes 2 times in a row, but this time I did it by flashlight with really hot water.  A new experience.

Anyways until tomorrow…
Much Love,
Shanna

Saturday...

Today was a fun Saturday! We went into town to the market and the museum at Choma. The museum at Choma had a really neat souvenir section along with some really neat pictures and some really neat facts. I bought a coke and some chocolate at the store which was great as well. J Since I got car sick on the way there (I did not throw up though), I got to ride in the front seat of the pharmacy truck. I liked it a lot. After we got back, we got to attend a wedding here at Namwianga which was so cool. They dance down the isle, then dance down back the isle after the ceremony, then they dance 2 more times. Of course, we left at 5 for dinner (we got there around 2:30) and it was still going. I have some great footage that I would not put into a church slideshow exactly, but it was great!!! After dinner, we played ultimate Frisbee and taught a few Zambian girls how to play.
That is about all that happened today that was interesting.
Much Love,
Shanna