2010

I got to go on a really great run to the top of a little mountain overlooking the city. Everyone was saying there was a very unusual haze for this time of year. Usually you can see forever out into the sea. (Double click to see detail)



One of Last year's biggest challenges was accurate measurement of the patient's body for the wheelchair. The chairs we provide are built to fit the user's hips, thigh length and lower leg height. An accurate fit might make all the difference in the wheelchair user's success or failure with the chair. We found that measurement continues to be a challenge for our clinicians.

Through a unique twist, we found that Motivation held a training at the Rehab Center the two weeks before our arrival. Nicky Seymour was a Motivation trainer who gave us excellent feedback on her training and the general situation there in Freetown. We were able to evaluate Emily and Cecil as they assessed a patient for a new wheelchair.

Here she is with her current chair


As a Physical Therapist, I can say that its always difficult to have another Clinician around to critique your work. There is an extra pressure that can make you overlook the obvious. Having two people observe and critique your work is twice as bad. That said, Emily and Cecil did very well with their patient evaluation. We had to review measurement again and hopefully practice will make perfect.

One of the issues that came out of Nicky's observation is that there had been some chairs in Freetown that were issued without proper fit. This dangerous situation came about when one of the government officials ordered the staff at the Rehab Center to build a bunch of chairs and hand them out without fitting. The politics of Sierra Leon are famously rough handed and I can't blame the staff for following orders. Fortunately, we are working with them to disallow this in the future.