Blogs from North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 13

Today we went on three home visits through Donkeaw Health Center. The first home we went to was of a lady in her early 60s. She had been in a car accident about 20 years ago and was pulled out of her care without precaution. She had a spinal injury which lead to paralysis due to mishandling during rescue. She lived at her son’s house, who worked during the day, as well as with her home helper from Myanmar, who had been working with her for 17 years. I was amazed by this length of time. At my home, we can barely get someone to stay 3 months with my younger sisters. It is also so amazing to me that the community helps the disabled out. During transfers, different people from the community volunteer to help ... read more

January 14 Today we went to an elephant camp. I have mixed emotions about it. Elephants are one of the most amazing creatures ever and God had a sense of humor when He made them. They have rubber skin and huge trunks that they use to put food in their mouths. They also just have tons of skin just hanging out underneath their belly, which is kind of funny. Their personalities are my favorite. They think they're small when in reality they are these massive creatures that can crush you in a second. Seeing the elephants in the camp was also extremely sad. Like I said before, I've never been to the zoo and there's a reason for that. I don't like seeing animals in cages. These elephants weren't in cages but they were being ridden ... read more

I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already! I’ll be leaving Thailand in 8 days. How crazy is that? I feel like i just got here and got adjusted to Thai life. I’ve been learning so much, especially about the language and culture. I’ve gotten more comfortable speaking Thai and exploring the city. I guess nothing can last forever. This morning we visited an elderly care facility in the heart of Chiang Mai. This facility is free for senior citizens who meet the specific criteria, which include: being over 60yo, no major mental illnesses or behavioral problems, being able to complete ADL’s, no contagious diseases (like TB), and are homeless/poor/or have lack of family support. The facility provides free housing, food, physical therapy, and activities. It’s a really nice facility for being government run. The residents live there ... read more

Today I woke up at 0730 and got ready to head to the community center for the home visits. We had some eggs, snow ball dumplings, and rice and ground pork which was all delicious. We started the home visits off with a 63-year old lady who had been in a car accident 17 years ago and had gotten paralyzed from it from the neck down. It was interesting to hear her story because the rescue team who came to remove her from her car which had flipped upside down did not stabilize her neck when they took her out of the car which may have added to her injuries from the accident. She had a very sweet caregiver with her who has been with her for the past 17 years and who has taken care ... read more

I woke up today to settle into the routine we have discovered here in Thailand: get ready, eat breakfast, depart to embrace the day by 8 or 8:30 and be ready for whatever happens! We have been here about 12 days and I am fully over the time distance and fully in Thai time, schedule and mindset wise. The people here are friendlier and don’t complain, encouraging me to have a more positive mindset and more flexible. I have different yet less stressors here and overall feel more relaxed now that I have gotten over the major culture shock. Today we visited three of Donkaew Community hospital’s patients at their homes and explored their health status and how they are being cared for at home. The volunteers, nurses, and, sometimes, doctors go to the patient’s house ... read more