Peru - Day 3

Last open letter to Evan and Nathan.


Dear Evan and Nathan,


Today was a very interesting day.  I found a local park to run to in the morning, which was very pleasant.  My work day started by driving to the worst part of Lima to the Madre Teresa in La Victoria (The Victory) district.  This is a ministry started by Mother Teresa after a visit to Peru and run by nuns.  To this point, I have been in some severely impoverished area in Lima, but this was beyond anything I had experienced yet this week.  It was in the downtown, so it was a very busy area.  People everywhere, working in the street.  There was garbage everywhere I looked.  Unlike some of the other areas I've been in, which are poverty stricken with some crime, this area has a very high crime rate.  Up to this point, I've thought that driving in Lima (like Guatemala City, Mexico City, and Hanoi) is an act of faith, but driving in La Victoria was CRAZY!  I cannot even describe it, but am happy to have survived.  Madre Teresa is an order of nuns who house 100 children with severe cognitive and physical disabilities and 150 men with neurologic disorders.  There is one physical therapist and one speech and language therapist for all of the kids and two physical therapists for the adults.  They see 6-9 patients at a time and I can't believe how hard they must work every day. 


Next, I went on several home visits with the director of Marincitos.  The home visits are designed to check in on seniors that haven't attended lately, seniors who have known histories of being abused or neglected by their families, and seniors at risk of losing their home or belongings to neighbors or families (to let the neighbors or family know that someone is checking in on them).  We visited a young man who had a spinal cord injury from a construction accident and has very little support from his family.  The young man is homebound due to living on a hill that was so steep we could not drive up it and his home being only accessible by about 2 blocks worth of stairs.  A local donor is paying for a physical therapist to visit the home twice a week, but the man is depressed and is not participating or doing his home exercises.  Our visit was to encourage him to participate so that he can continue to get rehab.  I encouraged him to do his exercises - this is a person who, with the right resources, could live independently and support himself, but circumstances do not allow him to do so.  I also suggested an evaluation to see if an antidepressant would work for him, but I realize that the family has no ability (and possibly no family support) to purchase medication.  Sad situation.  Antonio, the director of Martincitos, has invested so much effort in trying to get this young man the support and training he needs.


I won't try to describe the homes.  We visited a couple who live in a one-room home with a patchwork roof that covers only about 3/4 of the house, and the woman was cooking over an open fire.  I have no idea how they cope when it rains.  The only furniture was a bed and makeshift table.  The poverty today I saw was astounding, but so was the apparent level of contentedness that I witnessed in the people we visited as well as others at Martinicitos yesterday, who all live in the same impoverished district.  Something to learn from.


We don't eat until 7:00, so I walked to the Pacific Ocean.  It took me an hour to get there.  I made it through the Circle of Death, frogger-style.  That is an insanely busy roundabout with eight 2-3 lane roads going in/out and no lights.  I had to cross four of them.  In Peru, you can turn right or left from any lane and pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.  The rest of the walk was less exciting.  I spent two hours sitting on the beach feeling the spray of the ocean (and getting soaked twice when I wasn't paying attention to the waves).  There were a lot of surfers that were fun to watch.  Then I walked home and survived the Circle of Death again.


See you tomorrow!
Mom

Peru - Day 2

Another open letter to Evan and Nathan.


Dear Evan and Nathan,


Today I volunteered at Marincitos, which is a day center for 150 severely impoverished seniors.  They arrive for breakfast and are also served lunch.  In between, they have crafts, games, literacy classes, social time.  The long term goal of the program is to meet the daily living needs of the elderly, to provide companionship and community, and to promote respect and dignity for the for the for the aging people in Villa El Salvador, Peru.  Most of the seniors have no access to healthcare, so they also have an area for rehabilitation, but no physical or occupational therapist now.  There was a massage therapist and a reflexologist.  I spent a little time with the masseuse.  When I introduced myself to the reflexologist, she was very happy that I was there.  She brought in four people to have me evaluate so I could teach her how to help them.  One lady had the most severe scoliosis that I've every seen and a the worst case of neurofibromatosis that I've ever seen.  (Don't look that up for them, Adam.)  Another man had a traumatic brain injury (probably severe based on his presentation) and had not had any medical care.  She described his mobility after the injury and they showed me the exercises that she did with him and she had specific questions about how to help him further.  She had done a fabulous job with him.  He was so lucky to have her.  I showed them four new exercises, but wish he had some follow-up.  I also saw two people who had strokes.  All-in-all it was a good morning.  You would not believe how happy everyone was to be there.  It was like Disneyland for elderly people.  So many genuine smiles. 


In the late afternoon we went to the Inca Market to shop (way too much time shopping) and then to Miraflores, which is a neighborhood on the Pacific Ocean with a great park and path overlooking the ocean.  I saw a lot of surfers.  We spent way too little time there, but I might try to get back there tomorrow afternoon.


I love you and miss you!
Mom

Peru - Day 1

An open letter to Evan and Nathan.

Hi Boys!
My internet connection is too slow to upload pictures, so I will write about my trip so you know what I am doing and will show you the pictures when I get home.


I arrived in Lima at 4:30 this morning, and arrived at the house I am staying at by 6:30.  Our morning consisted of a orientation to the program and to our work sites.  I will be at two sites this week. One is a senior center for extremely impoverished and vulnerable senior citizens.  I will work at the center and do home visits for them.  The second site is a nursing home-type setting that houses 150 children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities and 100 adult men with severe physical and cognitive disabilities from acquired neurologic injuries such as stroke, brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries.


We spent the afternoon on a walking tour of old Lima. Lima was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro.  That's a long time ago!  I saw beautiful architecture at three cathedrals, the president's palace, the mayor's home and city hall, and other downtown.  The most impressive spot was the Plaza Mayor.  We also went through the church and monastery of San  Francisco.  It was built in the 1600s.  The architecture was Spanish with a lot of Moorish influence and was incredible.  We also toured the catacombs under the church, which is where they put people after they died.  It is said to contain the remains of 70,000-90,000 people.  I saw thousands of bones - mostly femurs, humeruses (or humerii?), and skulls.  You know I loved all those bones!

Tomorrow I will go to work.

I love you and miss you!
Love,
Mom
P.S. Tell your dad I've heard more Lionel Richie today than I did in the '80s.

Happy 9th Birthday, Evan!

Happy birthday, Evan!  You are growing up to be such a good kid.  This year I have received several messages and emails from people I don't even know (parents of kids in your class) to tell me what a nice kid you are and how you have shown kindness to their children.  There is nothing that could make me prouder.  You are a sports fanatic.  You play on a team every season.  You're killing it (your words) on the soccer field these days.  Your friend, Tavis is always by your side on every sports field.  You don't like to lose, but you are a good teammate and always give credit to the kids who are playing well and trying hard.  We play A LOT of backyard baseball, and Miss Pat goes outside every morning to throw back the balls that we hit into her yard.  You are killing it (my words this time) in school, too.  You are a voracious reader.  Yesterday we went to the library at 5:30, and you had your 236 page chapter book finished before you went to bed.  You tell me that you don't enjoy math, but you spend your days spewing out facts and doing division, multiplication in your head for everyday conversation that amazes me.  Your grandpa is also impressed with the amount of history you know, which ought to make Uncle Joe pleased, too.  You love to tinker with legos and cars and you build very involved creations with intricate details.  You don't miss a thing in your observation of people, behaviors, and things, and it shows in your creative play, art, and conversations.  Can I say it again?  You're a great kid and we are so proud to be your parents!

First day of school!

Evan - 3rd grade

Nathan - 1st grade

Love the Washington Coast!

We spent a fun-filled week at the beach with the rest of our clan.  What a fun trip!

 Resting in my homemade lounge chair at the end of a long day.

 The family that reads together stays together!

Flying the kite

 Happy birthday, Grandma!

 

Happy birthday, Uncle Joe!  Check out the high number on the cake!

Red Sox Nation in the PNW

The Red Sox are in town so of course we were there to see them.  We got to the game early enough to get a place right by the bullpen so we could watch the pitchers warm up.  Evan and Nathan even got balls from the catchers after they were finished warming up!  Dad will be at the game again tonight.