This is why I'm here!

As most of you know, one of my favorite parts of my job while here in Ecuador is to help sort out the equipment in our big donation that came by the truck load through the hard work of Nicole (my supervisor) and CMMB.  I have done a handful of home visits and refurbished, revamped, sewed, glued, hammered, and scrubbed about 8-10 wheelchairs/seats/standing frames by now, and the donation pile still has more in store for me. With each delivery or piece of equipment that goes home with a kiddo comes an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride in knowing that my manual labor is rewarded by the fact that this kid has a new opportunity for mobility and participation in their life.  But this day and this particular wheelchair was beyond words. I wanted to share it with you all.

Marlon is 5 years old and has cerebral palsy. He is not able to walk and has poor motor control of his legs. But he has a heart of gold! At first he is shy and is overshadowed by his big family that always accompanies him to therapy. There is always mom, dad, his little sister (who also comes for therapy for some deformities in her legs), and the older brother who helps care for the little sister. Once Marlon warms up to the situation, he is a character. He gets chatty and is very clear in what he likes and what he wants to do.

December and January were slow months at the clinic because of all the holidays, and February brought more rain than the past 4 months, which also means fewer kids make it to the clinic. But Marlon hadn't come to any sessions for over 2 months.  There are times when kids don't make it in for a few sessions because medical issues come up, family emergencies, or lack of transportation (depending on where they live), so we just waited patiently to see if Marlon and his sister would come back.  While I was away on vacation in Colombia, they did indeed come back and when I got back to the clinic I was told to fix up a wheelchair for Marlon to take home.  Sure thing! Wheelchair- coming right up!

We had one that was a perfect fit for him, almost. :)  "Perfect fit" meaning I could make reasonable modifications for it to work for him.  All we had to do was.... attached lateral trunk supports, remove the head rest, remove the armrests so he could reach the wheels to propel himself, somehow rig the footplates up higher so that his feet would reach (also meant extending the plates backwards since they were too far forward, and asking maintenance to help us saw off rusty screws that would not budge!), attached an abductor wedge so that his legs don't cross while he's sitting in the chair, cut foam for a back cushion, sew material for the back cushion, and cut/sew/attach a seat belt.  Totally do-able!

This project took me a couple weeks to get together but when we finally did, it was so worth it.  Marlon came in on Thursday and was able to take his new ride for a spin! The physical therapist was teaching him how to propel himself, do turns, and even go up and down the ramp. The smile on his face and the giggles coming out of him were priceless!

During lunch that day (before Marlon and his family had come for his therapy), we were talking at lunch about how excited we were that the chair was ready and how we were looking forward to giving it to him.  Only problem was that it was a bummer that they wouldn't be able to take the chair with them since they travel by bus and a taxi would be too expensive for them.  Well, it just so happened that also sitting at the same table with us was a doctor friend of ours who I knew drove his car to work.... thinking I'd better make use of the resources around me, in my oh-so-effective charmingly sarcastic way mentioned what a shame it was that we didn't know anyone who had a car to be able to help us deliver the chair, wink-wink. Without much fight, he bit the bait! :) I should try this more often!  Our plan was working out great! He was available at 4 pm, which is when Marlon's session was, so we figured we teach him how to use his chair then give the family a ride back home with the chair in tow.  

Sure enough, 4pm came around and Dr. John Delgado showed up with his car. We jerry-rigged it into the trunk of the car, piled the family of 5 (plus Tamara, myself, and John) into the small sedan and off we went.  The smile on Marlon's face never left the whole ride home.  He was beaming!! He kept looking out the back window to make sure the chair was still there. With salsa music playing, a beautiful sunny day, and a happy family along for the ride it became crystal clear that this is where I am meant to be!  

When we arrived to the house we carried the chair down the pebble path to their humble two-bedroom cement home. We put Marlon in his chair, and immediately he was rolling around with an inspiring new sense of freedom! We watched him wheel HIMSELF into his bedroom, at which point he then turned the chair around and said "me voy!" which means "I'm going". He was ready to head out into the streets and wanted to explore! For the first time in his life he had some control of where he could go and when.  I have chills writing this.

Here's the real tear-jerker though (as if that wasn't enough).... on the ride back into Tena, while Tamara, John and I are on cloud-9 because we know we were just part of something amazing, Tamara informs me of a small but mighty detail. The reason that Marlon had not come to therapy for those few months was because he had become incredibly depressed and had stopped eating.  Basically, this small bundle of joy was trying to starve himself because he didn't want to live anymore.  How could a life so innocent come to such a profound conclusion?! At 5 years old! And to think that something as seemingly simple as a donated wheelchair from the US that we discard as old, rusted, and disposable has now made such an impact on the lives of this child and his entire family! 

This is why I am here. 

The whole family, including the toucan on Marlon's right shoulder