Endorphins

This week I've had a lot of energy! It's probably because I've been working out a lot lately. I don't know why, but recently I've had a lot of motivation to exercise. I've gotten to the point where I love to workout! I actually look forward to it. Sometimes it's still hard to fit it into my day, but I try to plan time for it as much as possible. I still love running, but lately I've added more cross-training into my routine, which adds a nice variety to my workouts. It's so fun planning different workouts and different running routes! And the weather has been gorgeous! It just makes me want to get outside!

This was my workout schedule this week:
Monday: Swam 52 lengths
Tuesday: Ran 6 miles
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Ran 6 miles
Friday: Gym workout
            -Bike: 5 miles
            -Arms: 3 sets each of triceps, biceps, and deltoids
            -Bike: 5 miles
            -Abs: 200 crunches (50 standard crunches, 50 Russian twist, 25 crunches vertical legs, 25 right leg up, 25 left leg up, 25 suitcase crunches)

            -Plank: 30 seconds
            -Push-ups: 20
            -Superman: 20
Saturday: Gym workout
                -Bike: 5 miles
                -Lunges: 20 each leg
                -Push-ups: 10
                -Bike: 5 miles
Sunday: Hiked 5 miles

Sunday was supposed to be a rest day for me, but it was such a beautiful day that my roomies plus Alicia and I decided to go on a hike and enjoy the nice weather. It's been in the 60's and 70's recently- which is crazy for January! We went to Pocahontas State Park which is only about 30 minutes away. It was a pretty drive out there and a nice easy 5 mile hike. Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. :)

Costa Rica: Final thoughts

These pictures sum up the trip better than any words could.

Juana 101- she was blind, deaf, and 101 years old

 Lily and Alvaro. These two got married at the nursing home 5 years ago. They were so cute. They would always be sitting outside with their chairs pulled close together.

Our team.

It was awesome to be able to go out and be the hands of Jesus. It was a service trip, not a missions trip, but it gave me a little taste for what medical missions would be like. It was overwhelming and frustrating at times, but it was also very rewarding. We helped people who needed it, even if it was only for a short time. My professor told us to focus on what we did, not on what was still left to do. The hope is that others will come along and continue the work.

Costa Rica: Recreation Days

We had two recreation days while we were in Costa Rica. The first day we went to the Poas volcano and then to a waterfall.

 Me and Bettina at Poas

 The Poas Volcano

Audrey, me, and Kelly

The waterfall was really cool because we could swim in the river and swim behind the falls. There were two waterfalls. One was so powerful that it felt like a hurricane when you stood in the pool at its base. I love the water, so this was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

On our second recreation day, we went on a canopy tour and got to ride the ziplines!

Costa Rica: Hogar Manos de Jesus

For the next 4 days of PT, we went to a nursing home near Cartago called Hogar Manos de Jesus, which means Hands of Jesus Home. There were so many cute residents there.

 This is Tuto. He had cataracts and was nearly blind. We did some gait training and leg strengthening exercises with him. He doesn't get a chance to walk very much since he needs assistance and the nursing home is understaffed. So we did as much as we could with him while we there.

 This is Enid. She had a left below the knee amputation and was uncomfortable walking with her prosthetic leg. We did a lot of gait training with her to make her feel more confident with her prosthetic. She was especially nervous about going up and down ramps, so we worked on that a lot. I wish I knew more about prosthetics because she was having some pain due to pressure points from he prosthetic, but there wasn't much we could do about that.

This was my favorite patient, Mike. He was so nice! He knew some English and liked to show off by counting in English and saying some phrases in English. He had had a stroke 4 years prior that had affected his right side and had confined him to a wheelchair. It was so sad because if he had gotten physical therapy right away, he would probably be able to walk today. Instead he had developed contractures in his legs and in his right hand that severely limited his range of motion. Yet he was so cheerful and friendly despite his condition. We gave him exercises and stretches to preserve the ROM and strength he had left. We also gave him a tennis ball to stretch out his hand. He took it and carefully put it in a little plastic bag of personal items that he kept with him at all times. It was so cute.

Costa Rica: Tucurrique

I'm finally getting around to posting about what I did in Costa Rica!

For the first 3 days, we set up a free clinic in Tucurrique. We were staying at a hotel in Cartago (a town near the capital of San Jose) and Tucurrique was an hour drive from there. Every day we'd all load on the bus and drive over mountains and past waterfalls to get to this town far away from the big cities of Costa Rica. We set up treatment rooms in a school building and people from that area came to us with all kinds of musculoskeletal problems. A lot of people had low back pain, while a few had knee, hip, or elbow problems. One guy was recovering from a stroke and had not gotten any treatment until we got there!

The school where we set up clinic in Tucurrique

It was pretty overwhelming the first morning. We had set up different stations for patients to go to, but it didn't seem very organized. In the afternoon, we decided to treat in groups of 4 people. That worked a lot better since we could all collaborate and contribute in different ways. We made sure that each group had someone who spoke Spanish fairly well. We each saw one patient all the way through the treatment session instead of sending them to different stations. We got to make decisions like official PT's!

One of the patients we treated was this woman. She had been having a lot of knee and hip pain. We gave her a few instant ice packs, biofreeze gel, and some exercises to strengthen her muscles. Then we found out she walks to her daughter's house all the time and she only has a thin pair of sandals. So we gave her a pair of sneakers (some girls had brought their old shoes to donate.) She was so excited! She kept saying, "Thank you, thank you! So many gifts!"

There were a few patients that we weren't sure exactly what to do with. One guy came in with low back pain, but he kept giving us conflicting information on what was causing the pain and what made it better. We consulted with Luis, one of our translators/PT and he ended up just giving the guy some postural things to work on and some generic exercises. He told us later that he couldn't really find a diagnosis for that patient either.

This was a sweet woman we saw (picture below). She didn't actually have a musculoskeletal problem; she'd been having some stomach issues and she had mildly high blood pressure. Becca (far left), the nurse in our group, gave her information on changing her diet. I think this woman really just came in because she wanted a check-up; she really didn't have too much wrong with her. We checked her height and weight, did some manual muscle testing and ROM, and took her blood pressure because she wanted us to. She was so cute!

In our 3 days at Tucurrique, we saw about 50 patients. Some just need some exercises and some patient education, others could have used intensive therapy and I wish we could have seen them over several weeks. But we had to do what we could while we were there and leave it at that. Hopefully we made a difference in some small way in each of these patients' lives.

Back to my regimen

I've been back in school now for one week. Of course I miss all the free time I had during Christmas break, but I'm actually excited for this semester! One of the classes I'm taking is Neuro Rehab, which is an area of PT I'm interested in, so I'm looking forward to learning more about it. Another great thing about this semester is that we're not in class nearly as much as last semester, so I can work out more and spend more time with friends.

Getting back into a workout schedule is easier said than done though. I slacked off a lot when I was home and then I didn't work out at all in Costa Rica. But the weather has been so nice lately that I was eager to get back into running. I ran 5 miles last week with Alicia, then 5 miles on Sunday morning with Tristan. Let me say, those 5 miles with Tristan were the hardest and best 5 miles of my life. Hardest because we were going up and down hills, it was cold, and we were running at a fast pace. Best because I pushed through, kept going, and got an amazing second wind at the end- I felt like I was flying! It was the best feeling in the world after struggling so much for the first 4 miles. I definitely need to get my butt in gear and get back in shape!

This week I finally got to go to my church Bible study after being away for so long. It was awesome! We talked about discipline, which I've been learning a lot about lately. Discipline is not just punishment for doing something wrong. It's also "an exercise or regimen that develops or improves a skill". To be good at something, we have to work at it! We have to make the time for it and put the effort in. I'm learning this both through running and in my walk with the Lord. I'm excited about this new year because I believe it will be an awesome year of growth for me!

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Sneak Peek of Costa Rica

I got back from Costa Rica 2 days ago! Here's a sneak peek, with more to come later.

You might think we saw a lot of this:

and this:

...and we did see a lot of beautiful views. But we also saw this:

 this,

and this:

We probably saw about 100 patients during our 7 days of PT service. It's sad that these people don't get the same kind of care that they would in the US. The people who run the clinics and the nursing home staff do the best they can, they just don't have the same resources that facilities in the US do. I'm glad we were able to help these people for a short time while we were there.