Hello from Maggy!

Hi everyone!

I'm Maggy and I hail from sunny Southern California, specifically a little beach town called Ventura.

I graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara (another beach town-I really like the beach...) a little over two years ago with a Bachelor in Communications.

After graduating I did a bit of travelling around Western/Southern Europe and then landed a position in politics, working as a field representative for a state elected official. Through my experience in politics I was able to gain a unique perspective into state law and policy-making, while also using my direct ties to learn about significant issue areas such as water, education, the environment, public safety, and non-profits. Although all interested me, I felt spread thinly across several different topics and preferred to focus on, and be an expert in one field--something I deeply cared about.We can all strive to make the world a better place if we genuinely care about the work we do, right?

As far back as I can remember I have always been passionate about societal issues and helping at-risk populations. To be honest, there is nothing else I have ever really considered dedicating my life to-I don't feel as strongly about anything else. However, for a long time I just knew I wanted to help people. But help people how? I didn't really know. I just wanted to do some good. Working as a field representative I was able to learn a lot about government, but I knew it wasn't something I was going to commit my life to. I see politics as longitudinal systematic change and I'm all about direct, hand-to-hand, help. So I decided to take a risk and do something I have always wanted to do. And that's why you are reading this now.

I quit my job and came to Thailand to spend the next 6 months interning at Urban Light through CCT. Urban Light is dedicated to helping boys at risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. I am very excited to be able to not only immerse myself in the beautiful Thai culture, but to have the opportunity to learn about and contribute to such an important cause. I am really looking forward to making the most of my time here!

If there is anything else you need to know about me, it's that I am a super upbeat, positive, warm person, who really just wants to be your friend. Oh, and I LOVE to eat and be adventurous-whether it be with food or exploring some new terrain. Need a new buddy? Just say the word :)

Love,
Maggy

Farewell (Stacey Braun)

Pick a city. Any city. Any one of the thousands of thriving metropolis' around the globe.

The roadways are blanketed in a chic coat of chrome cement or asphalt as black as night. The polychromatic signage forms an eclectic gallery along each avenue. And amongst all the radiating bulbs and the mod-podge of reverberations, your journey through the city almost always comes to an abrupt halt. A halt at a red light.

Throughout history, the colour red has carried multiple meanings. Red was noted as the hue of extremes. In fact, our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the colour of fire and blood - anger, fear and danger. As the centuries have past, as a species we have evolved from living in caves to driving automobiles and red became recognized as the international colour for stop.

A stop. By definition, a stand still; a termination; a hindrance; a roadblock. A pain-staking colour that signals us to come to a standstill. And though we like to see ourselves as "upgraded models" in comparison to our Neolithic predecessors, our interpretations of red, in this sense, is remarkably similar. For these modern red lights bound within their metallic casings catalyze feelings of frustration and rage within each of us.

However, we don't just encounter these negative red lights on the physical roadway. Instead, as a wise woman once pointed out  in the backseat of a truck, we encounter these unexpected stoppages in our personal lives as well. In fact, being immersed in a foster-care facility in Chiang Mai for children with disabilities has illustrated that exact fact to me each day, for the past 87 days.

Like a pedagogic documentary projecting onto a screen in front of me, my eyes have bore witness and my ears have absorbed through narration each child's different and unique red lights. Each of them has experienced the life roadblock of their disability. The roadblock of all the developmental delays. The roadblock of the health related ailments. The roadblock of the cloud of stigma that surrounds their everyday life in their native land.

Nonetheless, I have not just witnessed these life roadblocks through living beings under the age of ten. Alternatively, two exceptional women have also allowed me to take a peak into their metaphorical closets and absorb their skeletons of roadblocks faced. One has had to experience: the roadblock of moving long-term to a foreign country ripe after academia, and the roadblock of volunteering in a misunderstood field.

The other has had to experience: the roadblock of garnering and juggling funds to help an under serviced  sector, and the roadblock of making decisions invariably linked with the life of vulnerable children.

While cumulatively, both women have grappled with the ever-growing roadblock of holding onto themselves in an environment where it is so easy to lose oneself completely.

In the end, each and every one of us will face red lights; interruptions in our journey forward. But what all of these individuals' life hindrances has shown me is that it is not always about moving forward. Sometimes that extra time spent stopped is a gift - a treasure. Sometimes in that time, you will battle through treacherous rain and hail and your inner strength will grow. Sometimes in that time, you may find an unanticipated route that will change your perspective completely. Or sometimes in that time, you may just have an extra moment to stop, take a breath, and realize all the miles that you've put behind you and all the growth that has already occurred.

Overall - thank you Chiang Mai and Hope Home for all that you have entailed. Thank you, for my trip - my unexpected life stoppage, my red light - has taught me so much.

More Than Just A Set of Wheels (Stacey Bruan)

According to the AARP, it is estimated that only 5-15% of people who need wheelchairs actually have them. That means that spanning the globe and its seven continents, as many as 350 million people are lacking the support, accessibility and mobility that these devices provide.

In the year 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada became one such of these persons who required a wheelchair. After misjudging the shallowness of the water in Chesapeake Bay, Joni became a quadriplegic at 17 years of age. Following years of struggle and rehabilitation, she founded an organization called Joni and Friends.

Since the year 1979, Joni and Friends International Disability has been dedicated to assisting people affected by disability and those around them. One of the organizations means of doing this is through their program called "Wheels for the World". As according to the program's mission statement, this project "provides FREE wheelchairs to children and adults affected by disability around the world".

As can be extrapolated by the immensity of that goal, this is not a single link chain of delivery but instead it is a step-wise process. Overall, it can be defined by the following steps: drop-off, transportation, restoration and distribution.

Initially, donated chairs are dropped off at specified locations. These chairs are given for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the donor's condition has changed and they require a different chair or no chair at all. Sometimes the donors outgrow their chairs. But regardless of the reason, the chairs are collected. Following collection, the chairs are transported to shipping ports. These ports serve as hubs where each piece of equipment is routed to a different restoration centre.

Currently, "Wheels for the World" operates restoration shops at correctional facilities across the United States. Inmates are trained to restore the chairs to "like-new" conditions. After each of the individual wheelchairs have been mended, they are shipped internationally to various distribution centres. Interestingly, the Kingdom of Thailand is one of these sites.  Though their movement spans the geographical range of the country, Chiang Mai is one site within the country where dispersal occurs.

In fact, on November 11, 2014 I was on hand at an event that occurred at Payap University's Faculty of Nursing. At this event, there were 3 special guests in the spotlight. Two of these guests were selected cerebral palsy children from Hope Home and the third was a foster child affected by Dushenes Muscular Dystrophy.

In a room filled with occupational therapists, physical therapists and mechanics, each child was fitted with a new wheelchair. Firstly, this process began with a subjective interview with the therapists gathering information about the condition and lifestyle of each child. Questions posed ranged from range of motion to the arrangement of each child's home. Progressively, as increasing amounts of information was acquired, the focus was shifted to a more objective view. During this time, measurements were taken. For example, these tabulations included hip breadth and chest width. Subsequently, it was these numbers that were used to determine specifications such as the size of the seat and seat back. Lastly, once all sizes were gathered, the appropriate chair was then selected and the mechanics then altered each chair to fit the child as best as possible.

Though simply owning a wheelchair is imperative, having a proper fitting wheelchair may be exponentially more important. A proper fitting wheelchair can slow the rate of degenerative conditions, prevent scoliosis, eliminate pressure sores and many other secondary disturbances. However, a wheelchair is important for more than just its role as a sponge for medical jargon.

The query of "what does a wheelchair mean to a person" is impossible to intricately answer. Each individual is defined by a unique set of circumstances and variables that would cause infinite variation in their responses. Nevertheless, from an observational perspective I can generally state that a wheelchair means so incredibly much.

A wheelchair can mean that a child previously unable to feed without being physically held, now has increased independence and self-actualization by feeding in the chair. A wheelchair can mean that a child heavily impaired by hypo sensitivity now has an environment that accommodates learning. A wheelchair can mean that a previously confined child now has the tool necessary to experience adventure and personal discovery. Overall, a wheelchair is more than just a set of wheels. A wheelchair provides hope for a fulfilling future.

Movement Physical Therapy (Stacey Braun)

 The earliest documented origins of actual physical therapy as a professional trade date back to a man by the name of Per Henrik Ling (Chartered Society of Physical Therapy). Through the years, this practice has morphed and changed until its current form in the 21st century. It is this form that is instructed at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Associated Medical Science Physical Therapy Department to their students. And it is these students that implement their new knowledge on Hope Home's children with cerebral palsy weekly.

As illustrated by children with cerebral palsy, neurological disorders often cause increased muscle tone - or too much tightness. In the muscles of the arms and legs, spasticity results from increased muscle tone, limiting movement and joint mobility (Verschuren et al.).Therefore, the therapeutic goal of physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy is largely focused around "improving ones ability to walk or perform other functional activities" (Verschuren et al.).

Chiefly, passive stretching is the major component of the children's program at CMU. By definition, passive stretching is when "the stretch is performed by another person and the child does not actively participate"
 (Wiart et al.). Notably, this type of stretching is integral to the physical therapy for Hope Home's children. This is because the children who have cerebral palsy at the home, have severe cerebral palsy. The number of controlled muscle movements they are able to perform is extremely limited. Ergo, applied external force is required to complete any stretch.

Foremost, after arriving for our weekly session the physical therapy students started with each child's upper extremities. Initially, a gentle soft tissue massage was completed by each therapist. This was performed to loosen up the desired muscle group and to promote a convivial connection with the child.

Subsequently, each therapist then moved to performing palm extension exercises. These exercises are salient for children with cerebral palsy. For these children, the clenched fists come from the damaged brain sending improper impulses to muscles causing "excess flexion" (Soon et al.). Accordingly, the physical stretching of the palm helps relieve this tension.

Following several minutes of these types of exercises, the students shifted to bicep flexion and shoulder rotation. Overall, in our group this is commonly met with a rousing chorus of grunts, groans and tears. Due to the children's inability to communicate verbally, the reason for the crying cannot be completely understood. The child could be feeling pain resulting from their stuff muscles being elongated. Or if the child has experienced damage to their cerebral cortex, their ability to perceive  their world could be hampered (Gerztiman et al) . Therefore, the child could be perceiving a fearful situation.

Following the choir of cries, the physical therapy students focus shifted to the lower limbs. Largely, a similar routine was performed as on the upper extremities. However, the physical therapy students did preform a new type of exercise to each child's legs that was not performed on the child's arms.

Accordingly, prolonged stretching is when "positioning is used to achieve a longer duration stretch of a muscle group (Wiart et al.). Often this type of therapy is completed with the assistance of splints or braces. In respect to our physical therapy session, 3/4 leg braces allowed the physical therapy students to stretch the major lower extremity muscle groups while simultaneously assisting the child with sitting or standing. Overall, there is something exceptional about seeing a child stand who cannot do it individually. It is almost as if you can see the pride fill their eyes and confidence seep out of their pores. I do not believe there is a better education for the students than that image right there.

Not only are these children living models for the students to practice their craft on, but they are also tangible models of life lessons. Walking should not be taken for granted. Siting should not be taken for granted. Life un-assisted should not be taken for granted. Though confined by their disability - they are not defined by their disability. And that in itself may be a lesson for more than just this small student  sector of Thailand.