Hydrohappy (Stacey Braun)

The use of water as a form of therapy is not a modern concept by any means. The ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations all have forms of hydrotherapy recorded. In fact, Hippocrates - the father of modern medicine - prescribed bathing in spring water for sickness (Pappas et al). Conversely, the use of water as a form of therapy for children with cerebral palsy (or other disabilities) may be a newer concept.

It is well documented that children with cerebral palsy may be only capable of a limited number of movements. However, with the use if water, exercise becomes more feasible for these children. The buoyancy of water: reduces the effects of gravity, poor balance, and poor postural support (Kelly and Darrah). In fact, water can act as a brace and physically provide postural support. Though it may be important, support is not the only benefit of hydrotherapy.

Hydrotherapy has numerous benefits for children with cerebral palsy. Being in water  fosters the movement of limbs and it encourages stiff muscles to relax. This relaxing is aided by the warm temperate of the pool water. In addition, hydrotherapy can create a fantastic opportunity for sensory feedback (Thorpe and Reilly). Children can hear the sounds of splashing water and feel the warm water lap against their body. Furthermore, it has been stated that "perceptual and visual motor skills [also] improve because water slows down movement and gives children time to react" (Thorpe and Reilly).

Overall, it is without question that I noted each of the above benefits with the children's hydrotherapy session this week.

On Monday, after an approximately 30 minute long drive,  some of the Hope Home children and staff arrived via songthaew at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences. It is within this faculty that the Physical Therapy department is housed.

Following a swift change of attire, as a group we leisurely eased into the hydrotherapy pool. Initially, I found the water noticeably warmer than what I was used to. This temperature is due to the fact that hydrotherapy pools are generally between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius. This warm water is utilized because it  has a relaxing effect and can help decrease muscle tone.

Over the course of the next hour, a variety of activities were performed with the assistance of the physical therapy students. Initially, we began with getting comfortable in the water - floating and splashing around. Though some children acclimated immediately, others were very hesitant and required some coaching.

Afterwards, we formed a circle with each child/caregiver pairing. From this arrangement we sang songs while encouraging the children to move their limbs in the water. At this point in the program you could see each child's personality shine through. The loud and rowdy children needed to thrash about the wildest. The prim and proper princesses showed their enjoyment with grins and giggles.

Subsequently, after a period of time had passed we played a "fetch" type game. The physical therapy student leader dumped a bin of balls - containing a myriad of sizes and colours - into the water. They then instructed the children to collect the balls and place them back in the bin. Here I truly began to see the benefits of this treatment. Children who were do confined on land exhibited such independence and tenacity. Confidence that was initially in the shadows, rose to take centre stage. This moment illustrated in vivid colour the purpose of this therapy.

Finally, to conclude the session we did a series of races. All child/caregiver pairings lined up at one wall and then at the leaders command, moved to the parallel wall. We jumped. We spun. We thrashed about. We laughed. We grew. Whether it was physical, mental or emotional - we all grew.


Thorpe DE, Reilly M. The effect of an aquatic resistive exercise program on lower extremity strength, energy expenditure, functional mobility, balance and self- perception in an adult with cerebral palsy; a retrospective case report. J Aquatic Phys Ther. 2000; 8: 18- 24.

Kelly M, Darrah J. Aquatic exercise for children with cerebral palsy. Dev Med and Child Neurol. 2005; 47: 838- 842.

Geralis E. Children with cerebral palsy: A Parent’s Guide. 2nd ed. Woodbine House, Inc. Bethesda, USA. 1998.

Lost and Found

I´ve been in Chiang Mai over 2 months without seeing any temples in the city and I thought it was time to change that. Together with my Canadian roommate – you´ve probably red her blog already – I stated to make a plan. We are both no big fans of motorbikes, to we chose man power, bicycles.

The city is – thank god- not too hilly, our bikes didn´t have any gears.The first day was a perfect one, we saw Wat Phanoha, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh, Wat Lam Chang and Wat Chiang Man (last three highly recommended) in the older city. Additionally, we also saw a terracotta garden and I had the best smoothie so far.

Encouraged by this first day, we reached for more. Wat Wela Wanaram, Wat Ku Tao and Wat Jet Yet were the plan. Wat Wela Wanaram has an interesting museum with everything. This included an elephants head over photos of old Chiang Mai to radios from the early 20th century. The temple itself isn´t

one of the important ones, but is with its five pediments from architectural beauty.

Following the river from Wat Wela Wanaram we headed to the north. The understanding that cycling on the big roads needs more practices made us bend off into smaller roads. Chiang Mai has a totally different face in this locale than in the Sois of the Older City. The feel is somehow almost rural, with smaller houses and some unfilled spaces. Two blond girls on bicycles are nothing ordinary here, as many reactions showed us. However, navigating without a proper map wasn´t the best idea. Our map had only road names for the big streets and the small lanes weren´t on the map at all. It was bound to happen – we were pretty lost. Later at home I figured out that we went in circles around our destination. 

We ended up in a small street, which had the name of the temple thinking it couldn´t be far and used the internet at the little coffee shop to figure out the way. I literally burst out laughing when the lovely shop owner showed the roof of the temple. We could have seen it the whole time, if we only had looked up. On the other hand, I got a lot of impressions from this ride I really don´t want to miss and which I can barely formulate. Maybe it´s not about finding the direct way, maybe it´s about getting lost and find something you didn´t expect. Something that surprises you and doesn't let you go. Even the hidden roads lead to the destination.

 The temple itself, Wat Ku Tao is definitely worth a visit. If not for simply an oasis in the city.We made our way from Wat Ku Tao with only a small indirection to Wat Jet Yot on the other side of the Super Highway. This temple cannot be more different from the Burmese influenced Wat Ku Tao than Wat Jet Yot. But

it´s an oasis, a place of peace and ease as well. This place makes you forget that Chiang Mai´s most important traffic artery is only a few hundred meters away. With its huge old trees and a lot of old chedis, the

place is somehow fey and impressed me deeply. Definitely my favorite temple so far.

Blog 5

I was thinking hard about what to write in this week´s blog. There hasn´t

been something extraordinary, I could tell. It has been a week as usual.

But maybe that’s the extraordinary thing: to say a week as usual. It

implicates, that there is actually something that approximates everyday

life in Thailand. Even though my Thai is still pretty poor – only some

basic words and sentences - I work on it. I manage somehow to get along.

It´s incredible how much you can understand contextually, especially if

you know the person you are talking to a bit better. However, it doesn’t

help you much when you are about to buy mosquito spray and want to know,

it´s whitening. Thai letters are still a mystery to me – somewhere in

between beautiful ornaments and Linear A.

But there is always someone around to help you and even if it´s with hand

and feet. Charades between shampoo and bug killer. Sometimes it´s life

writing the best stories of all.

The rain found us finally this week. Our local coordinator kept telling us

at the weekly family dinner, the monsoon comes next week. Every week was

hot and – beside some rain at night- dry. I´ll bet, there has been more

rain back home and it´s summer there. I automatically stated to wonder

where the rainy season got its name from. However, the rainy season should

be almost over, so were we told this week. The rain started the same

evening, rhythmic and constant, choking every other sound from outside. I

love rain. Listening to the rain with a good cup of tea has the same

effect on me like a warm fireplace in a frosty winter night. As a side

effect of this rain the days are cooler, which everyone appreciates very

much. To illustrate the temperature change, I was even wearing my dad´s

warm sweater till lunch time.

Well, what can I say, the rain didn´t last too long and now we are back to

32.8 °C in the house. Too bad.

Hope Home week 2 (Stacey Braun)

The daily routine. What comes to mind with that phrase? Likely some monotonous, mind-numbing sequence of events that you go through diurnally sprung into your mind. In reference to my life back at home, my daily routine as a student was defined by the following: wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, attend lecture, eat lunch, go to additional lectures or lab, eat supper, study, and finally go to bed. Black and white. It was this basic routine that structured my life. A skeleton.

As anybody who has a general knowledge of the human body will tell you, our skeleton is imperative to our functioning. So the same could be extrapolated about our daily routine - our daily skeleton. With that in mind, I would like to introduce my new skeleton for my day at Hope Home.

At 7:30  I get picked up from the volunteer residence by a red truck or songthaew. After an approximately 30 minute jaunt with some minor traffic and horn honking, I arrive at Hope Home. Upon arrival I am greeted with many "wai's" and "Sawasdeeka's" before getting briefly informed of the plans for the day.

Subsequently, from approximately 8:00-9:30 am it is relax time. Preceding my arrival, the nurses complete feeding breakfast and administering medication. Therefore, my arrival allows them some time to sit and recollect before moving on to the scheduled task. During this time with the children, I provide them with some company and laughter by chatting and playing little games.

Then from 9:30-11:45 am, the tasks become dependent on the day. Mondays are filled with hydrotherapy at Chiang Mai University pool. Normally, Tuesdays are booked at the special school. However, currently the school is on break. Wednesdays are infused with ARI Art Therapy. On Thursdays we travel to Chiang Mai University for physical therapy. Finally, on Fridays the weeks are closed out with a "free day". Each of the above activities provides a different therapy to the children and act to supplement their quality of life tremendously. Thus, in subsequent blogs on the following weeks I will focus on these treatments. What do you do? How do they work? What are the childrens' responses? I will try to address all of these questions.

Conversely, I regress back to my schedule. From 11:45 to 12:15 pm is lunch time. During this time I directly assist with feeding. Though some of the children can eat independently - not all of the children have this luxury. Then after all their bellies have been filled, it is nap time for the children and it is dishes time for me. The slick metal sink and soapy suds essentially wrap up my day as my songthaew arrives to pick me up at 1:00 pm.

If at this point you are thinking, some more pictures would have been nice... Yes, I know. However, I got permission to take photos of the children from Judy Cook to late. Next week I will!

Thanks for reading,
Stacey

Sawasdee Ka from Anna

                                                                       Sawasdee ka!

My name is Anna and I am a new volunteer for Art Relief International. Having just arrived a week ago, already there has been so many wonderful experiences to share with you. My days have begun with going with all my fellow volunteers to the Art Relief International office to prepare for the day's program, leading activities with different participants, home for dinner by six, and then a small chunk of time exploring Chiang Mai. It has been a humbling experience to be a part of what the current volunteers provide for the participants of programs. This week's activities have ranged from pointillism painting, making penguin masks, to playing theater sport games. All of which have left us rolling in laughter and my face hurting from smiling all day.

So far, Thailand has surpassed any idea I had made of it before arriving. What has stood out to me the most since arriving is how I am welcomed with smiling faces at every turn. Everyone here, strangers and new friends alike, have treated me with such amounts of kindness that amazes me. Though I know only common Thai phrases, local Thai people make such an effort to converse with me; through missed translations it'll leave both of us smiling.

Other than the daily ARI activities, I have found within just one week many things to do during any off time. Chiang Mai is a busy city filled with beautiful greenery, a gorgeous view of Doi Suthep, tea houses down most streets, and incredible temples. Most mornings call for a walk to a nearby tea spot, a cute place to get a relaxing start to your day is Tanita Coffee. It's located just a five minute walk from the volunteer home, is beautifully covered in moss paired with old wooden seats, and an old tree grows through the middle of the entry.

If you are a runner, then the streets of Chiang mai are quite fun to explore. Back home, I enjoy trail running throughout mountain paths. But since I have arrived here, I have found that running through the city has been a great way to orient a since of direction and understand where everything is located. If you enjoy running I highly recommend running in the early morning for it is cooler, much quieter than during the day, and less motorbike fumes around.

As the afternoon rolls around, it's quite fun to walk into the Old city of Chiang Mai and endlessly explore all of its lovely paths. Currently, there is the ASEAN Vegetarian festival going on so everyday the streets are covered even more so with stands of vegetarian food. The other night, other volunteers and myself went to the festival to enjoy some tea and northern Thai dishes. Everything was too delicious!

This past weekend was my first full free time to fully explore the city so I took advantage of my time and set out to do some adventuring. Two friends and I rented motorbikes for a day to ride around Chiang Mai. We set off to Mae Sa waterfalls; which is around a thirty minute motorbike ride outside of town. The motorbikes were a fun way to travel and the road to the falls was gorgeous. Everything is so lusciously green here and there was a gorgeous view of the mountains as we rode. The falls themselves and its surrounding environment were breathtaking.

The night life here is wonderful! Weekend nights have consisted of visiting the incredible Night Market and listening to live music with friends. There is such a vibrant to Chiang Mai's music scene. There are commonly live bands playing at restaurants or on side streets that play incredibly. It's been too fun to go dancing with friends while good music is played. This place has so much to offer!

So far, I cannot get enough out of the Art Relief International program and the city in which it calls home. If this is what a week's time is like here, then I can not imagine how these next wonderful three months will be like. Thanks for reading a birds eye view into my first week here!

Best,
Anna Marie

From Canada with love

Hello! My name is Stacey Braun and I am from Altona, Manitoba Canada. Before arriving in Thailand I completed my BSc in Biology from the University of Manitoba. So with that fact in mind - why did I chose to volunteer at a placement completely unrelated to science? The answer is simple.

Over 30 months ago I began work at an organization in my hometown called Blue Sky Opportunities. This organization is involved in maximizing the independence of adults with intellectual disabilities. As I commenced in my employment those many months ago, my work morphed from being a way to generate an income to a passion. A passion to serve this under serviced and vulnerable sector. In turn, it is through this found zeal that I selected Cultural Canvas Thailand's Cerebral Palsy Assistance program.

As according to the definition provided by the Mayo clinic, "Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a disorder of movement, muscle gone or posture that is caused by an insult to the developing brain". Notably, CP is one of the most common congenital disorders of childhood. Therefore, it is logical to surmise that multiple children in Thailand are affected by this disorder. Which is the exact conjecture by which Hope Home was founded in 2007.

As stated on the Hope Home website, "Hope Home provides residential accommodation for children with a disability who are orphaned or abandoned, until they are fostered long-term or adopted with a loving family". And it is at this lovely home I will be assisting

In closing, stay tuned each week for an update of my journey here in Chiang Mai and my doings at Hope Home. Though I am not a fervent photographer by any stretch, I will attempt each week to provide some pictorial supplement to my writing.

Thanks for reading!
Stacey

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert

Saying goodbye (Rita Boyle)

Hi there - Well after three truly wonderful weeks my journey at CCT has come to an end.   My last week was a busy one with mixed emotions as I said goodbye to my students and fellow students.  They were all so nice to me and I couldn't have asked for a nicer school.  Teacher May presented myself and another volunteer teacher with a lovely bag each and I had photo shoot with P5 and P6 (my students)  Teacher May also took us to her house for a wonderful dinner.   The friendship and warmth of the Thai people is something that I will never forget and will always be grateful for.

As the teachers were at a seminar last Thursday and Friday I got to close out the “Dress Code” Guidelines when volunteering with CCT that I was working on with Wad.  I also got to attend two of the Art Workshops which was a wonderful experience, it was truly inspirational to see how the children brought a blank piece of canvas to live with their imagination and talent.  The team are going to have a tough job trying to choose which pictures will make it into the Exhibition in October, let's just say rather them than me! 

 

On Friday afternoon, it was time for another photo shoot, this time with the CCT staff and fellow volunteers, well I couldn't go back to Ireland without a photo of the people that made this experience possible and who were there to support me every step of the way during my journey.

On Saturday, I went to the Elephant Retirement Park. Here I got to see the elephants roam free, no elephant rides, just feeding and bathing them in mud before giving them a nice shower, mind you I think by the end of the day I ended up with more mud on me than on the elephants..... - but well worth the trip.

 

Well that’s about it from me. On a closing note I would just like to say, if you are considering volunteering, speaking from experience you couldn't pick a more genuine organization than CCT, they do amazing work and the team are one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of working with.  So just go for it, you won't regret it, but remember you’ll get out of it as much as you put in to it. Keep an open mind and if you are willing to be flexible and embrace the experience you will end up with memories and friends for life.

 

I don’t really believe in goodbyes so until me meet again take care.

 

All the best

 

Rita