First few days in Tansen

We’ve had a busy first few days at Tansen Mission Hospital – meeting friends and staff we have worked with before, getting oriented and preparing for the 5-day nursing rehab course that started Thursday (March 19).  There have been hikes up Shreenagar to see the mountain views, and trips into town to buy Nepali clothes and eat at our favourite restaurant.  It’s great to be back.  The album of pictures from our first 4 days in Tansen is here.

It is always interesting to see what has changed since we were last here.  The most exciting change is that a small room on the medical ward has been identified where the beds will be reserved for patients receiving neurorehab treatment.  This was part of the agreement when NepalAbility began supporting a neurorehab physio and assistant, and it is finally happening.  There is an expat physician who is interested in supporting the rehab room, and he has started doing weekly rehab rounds. We will meet with him before we go to talk about what is needed to set it up.

Another great change is that Krishna is now coming in to Tansen Hospital as the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Peer Counsellor.  We met him in 2011, and he has done very well since then – doing more rehab, and finishing high school.  He’s currently in his first year of a Bachelor of Teaching, and wanted to support other people who have an SCI.  NepalAbility is paying for his travel and a stipend, and starting 5 months ago, he has been coming up to the hospital when there are patients he can counsel.

Krishna came in on the first day of our nursing rehab course to talk to the nurses.  He was fantastic – sharing with them how he had been supported by nurses, what he needed to learn early on, and how helpful the teaching was.  He also spoke about his experience, and how hard the adjustment was. It was great for the nurses to see someone living well with an SCI, and they had lots of questions for him.  We all were really impressed by him.  He then went and spent time with a couple of patients in the hospital now.

The final thing to note is that the ground mobility device we ordered after our trip in 2011 has finally arrived.  It was made in Pokhara, and we wanted the department to have a model to let people trial, and also to show to local workshops so others could be built for patients here.  As always, things take quite a bit of follow-up in Nepal, but we were really happy to see it here at last.  These are great for using inside traditional homes, where everything happens on the ground – cooking, eating, working.  The ground mobility device can be much more helpful for these activities.  We took lots of pictures to show what it looks like – you can see them here, along with some other local equipment.