Page 14 - Mobility Management, September 2018

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Propel DR
rehabilitation technology suppliers and technicians, almost all of whom are ATPs and/or Seating and Mobility Specialists (SMS) — works side by side with DR therapists and technicians.
When a new client is brought into clinic, the multidisciplinary team identifies the child’s needs via a thorough evaluation, then fabricates the best equipment based on parts and pieces available. It is common for Deanna to remind us to “Use
our Dominican brains” to optimize the items we do have rather than get caught up in what we would have access to if we were in the United States. There is nothing more exhilarating than providing a child with independent mobility for the first time, or giving a mother a safe way to transport her teenage son with postural deformities instead of
carrying him from room to room. The U.S. team has grown from
four members in 2011 to 20 in 2017. More volunteers and donations has meant that more children receive custom CRT equipment. In 2017 our team provided more than 50 children with equipment. Since our last trip, at least four children have been evaluated by a team of Dominicans, including a PT, an OT, a wheelchair technologist, and a social worker. Each child was provided with a custom “new to them” wheelchair fabricated from equipment from last year’s trip.
Changing My Perspective
One of my favorite aspects of my job as Clinical Strategy and Education Manager with Sunrise Medical is collaborating with professionals from all over the world. I met Deanna
in 2012 at a meeting in Colorado. Since then, we’ve had several opportunities to work together.
During training at Deanna’s clinic in December 2015, I met Laura. After the training, Deanna and Laura were reflecting on their trip to the
DR in October, just as a couple
of individuals from Numotion and National Seating & Mobility (NSM)
who participate in the trip happened to be walking through the doors. Hearing how Propel DR trips re-ener- gized them personally and profession- ally led me to inquire about taking Deanna up on the invitation she had extended me for years.
A month later, I received an e-mail with the trip date. My Caribbean vacation was going to be spent teaching seminars to professionals who did not speak English and working in a pediatric wheelchair clinic with therapists, physicians, CRT suppliers and technicians, most of whom I did not know. As I landed in the DR for the first time, I had doubts about whether this trip would be the escape from reality I was seeking. The activities and people I would be spending time with made this seem like just another work trip.
This year, as I plan my third trip
as a member of Propel DR, I can honestly report I am at a greater level of peace than I am while on traditional vacations. I’ve not only had the chance to teach educa- tional seminars and “wrench on chairs” again, but I have also put my pediatric recreation therapy skills to use by adapting toys and creating games for children during the long process of evaluation to creation to fitting the custom mobility device.
In addition, I have the chance
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