So we just finished our first week in the hospital and orphanage. I scored the Mickey Mouse two room which I affectionately dubbed the "Vampire Room" because there is a little girl in there that likes to bite people. She is a real handful.
My room is Schweet! I think I scored the perfect ratio, that is 3 mobile toddlers to 5 wheelchair bound kids (around 5 to 10 years old). I have to be honest a year ago the thought of working with wheelchair bound kids that drool all over and make weird noises would've been really weird to me and I would've been scared out of my mind but I honestly didn't flinch working with these kids. I think working at Oakridge school in Springville helped me a lot with this. I remember the first time I ever wiped a bunch of slobber off of a kids chin there. It was cool, I realized how awesome it was to do something for this guy that he couldn't do himself.
So in my room there is Andrea--She is probably around 2 years old and is a typically developed child, in other words she doesn't have any disabilities or delays, she does have to where glasses though and when she doesn't she has to squint to see which really cracks me up! She really knows how to push buttons to get attention as do all the orphans. She looks a lot like my cousin Naomi and I think that it has made me a little biased.
Valentina-- is a monkey! She has fetal alcohol syndrome and has an incredibly strong and flexible body. She is also very manipulative. FAS has taken away her ability to understand consequences so biting, hitting, and other mischievous activities come fairly often with her. The other day she got away from me for one second and I ran after her, I was literally a foot behind her when she stuck her hand in mop water and then stuck it in her mouth. I was dumbfounded but she new exactly what would get me to pay attention to her, what a silly girl.
Maria--She has downs syndrome and is the most mild of the toddlers. She could sit on the floor for a long time and just play but generally gets attacked by the other two. She is very mild mannered and easy to watch.
Irina-- I haven't been able to connect much with Irina, she is in a wheelchair and has epilepsy but other than that I don't know much, she tends to stay in her own little world.
Constantine-- Everyone calls him Costica I don't know exactly what he has either but is in a wheelchair and is very good tempered, he loves to smile and laugh.
Illiuta-- (ill-e-oo-tsa) he is my 'masa' buddy which means lunch. I have been able to feed him everyday this week and I'll tell you what, I have never seen anyone so happy during and after a meal it really cracks me up how happy he is. The bummer is that leading up to lunch he cries a lot and there isn't a whole lot you can do.
Iulian-- He seems to be in the same condition and to have the same disabilities as illiuta except he doesn't cry. Both him and illuta really like to lay on the floor and roll around they get really happy when they do that.
Ana marie-- She has CP for sure and some other cognitive issues from epilepsy, I believe all of the wheelchair kids have epilepsy. She had a seizure the other day at lunch which surprisingly was not as scary as I had thought it would be. She is really happy most of the time though and loves attention.
So those are my kids. Now what is my job? its not just to play with them, I will give them all basic development test at the beginning and at the end and work in the meantime to help them accomplish small goals to help with their cognitive and physical development. I am really excited by the prospect and can't wait to get to work. The progress will be really minimal but I am excited for the challenge.
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