Day 10: First Steps

Back at Hope Haven, we got to deliver another few standing frames. In total, eight patients came with their physical therapists. Only three patients needed to be fit for standing frames today, while the rest were here for a follow-up! We got some insightful information from them; two of the follow-up patients brought their frames that they'd been using for over a year, which are still in fantastic condition! We learned that our frames hold up even better than expected, hardly wearing down even after 14 months. Our proudest moment was meeting Jaquelin, who is learning how to walk thanks to her therapy with our stander! A year ago, when she received her stander, she couldn't bear her own weight on her legs. Today, she was able to walk short distances and even jump up and down! We are all so grateful to have met her; she is proof that our standing frame design can truly improve somebody's life in a meaningful, impactful way. The ability to stand or walk gives new perspectives and control to a child, and we're all ecstatic to be able to provide that to children who otherwise might not have that power.
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After completing the deliveries, Trey and Scott worked with Sergio and other physical therapists to revise and improve our follow-up and intake forms. They used the information we gathered from patients today to tailor our data collection toward efficient, pertinent information. We made a few changes to our forms for therapists and families in order to better understand under what conditions the stander is being used, for what purposes or goals, and how effectively it meets those goals.

After a few brownies, the team hit the hay. Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to visiting patients in their homes in Xenacoj!

Scott with Jaquelin and her mother!