#1---we're adding a second trip in 2018! Prosthetic Promises will be making an April trip and September trip to Zambia this year. We have been working towards this, and it looks like we can make it happen this year. It's pretty difficult to expect patients we see to wait a whole year to see us again. Yes, we have been training Protashow each trip so he's available to do repairs to prostheses if someone needs it, so we aren't leaving people without any options. But doing 2 trips this year will be fantastic! With each trip, we've had more people we've had to turn away due to lack of time and materials. An additional trip will allow us to see more people and check in on patients.
#2---with the added trip, we're incorporating more people for the Prosthetic Promises team. Suzanne has opted to do the September trip, which works out better for her schedule. So, April's team will include John, Chris, myself and newcomer Amanda. Amanda is a physical therapist who works in Denton, which is how I know her. Having a P.T. on the team is so exciting! Chris and I will be able to fit patients and then Amanda work with them on gait training. Usually, because we're working to fit so many people in one day, we only get to work with each patient on the basics of how to walk with their new prosthetic leg. Amanda will be able to work with them more in depth. She will also be helping with all the other aspects of our trip like evaluating patients and fabricating the prostheses.
It also looks like Carolin, who is an Orthopedic Mechanic in Germany, will be able to volunteer with us. She has been to Zambia before and found out about Prosthetic Promises online. She's making a trip back to Zambia to volunteer at an orphanage in Choma and will be there during our April trip, so she'll be able to work with us. I think this is a pretty cool opportunity for some mutual learning---prosthetic fabrication in Germany vs the U.S., techniques, etc.
#3---there's currently a cholera outbreak in Zambia. It's mostly in the capital city and surrounding area, which is about 180 miles from New Day Orphanage where we stay for our trips. New Day is only affected right now by their school semester being delayed in starting, as the government has delayed all schools from starting the term. We are looking into cholera vaccines for our upcoming April trip. Please join us in prayer for Zambia as they face this cholera outbreak.
I'm really excited to see Prosthetic Promises growing with an additional trip planned for this year, new people on trips, seeing more patients and overall having more opportunity to be servants for Christ.
Excited to be back at the clinic for another trip in April!
