Dear friends,
This month God taught me a lesson that no matter how hard you try, you cannot meet 
everyone’s expectations. I received a phone call from a family in Khmelnitskiy (south west of Lutsk) who wanted to bring their 18-year-old son to our center for 3 weeks of rehabilitation. The young man broke his neck while diving almost 2 years ago and has been in a wheelchair since that time. His parents have taken him to different centers in Ukraine to find help so that he would walk again. They live in a village and turned one room of their home into a gym for their son where he works for 5-6 hours every day on various exercises and also does a lot of standing with the help of his parents. After we evaluated the young man, we explained to the family what we are going to work on during his time here and they seemed to agree with it. But the more we worked with him, the more we understood that his family wants him to walk and they believe he will walk despite the severity of his trauma. It was really disturbing for us to see how desperately they believe this even though the young man has not walked during these 2 years and most likely never will again. By the end of the first week, they called and said they will not continue rehabilitation and will instead get acupuncture in Lutsk before going home. After talking to the mom, I learned that our center is not enough for them and they want something different for their son. This news really crushed me because this family wants unreal things for their son. It is very disappointing that they left before we could help him learn some skills to be independent in a wheelchair and in bed. It is a real problem in Ukraine that doctors do not explain to patients the details about their spinal cord injury and what to expect. It is also a problem that different people use families like this to earn money by saying that the patient will walk after their treatment. It made me consider the need for counselor at our center that would work with patients and their families. I also saw the need for better preparation for our therapists so they can actively educate families more.
On the other hand, it was encouraging and rewarding to say good-bye to another patient with a similar trauma who came from Rivne (a little south from Lutsk) for 3 months to the center and gained a lot of function and independence. He worked hard on his goals and he left the center a different person. Here is what he shared on his last day at the center: “Before I came to the center, I was lying in my bed and could not do anything myself. During the rehabilitation I realized that a person with a disability can live a full life, be successful at work, and that life does not end with a trauma. Now I became more independent.”
Also this month we celebrated the 7th anniversary of our Active Rehabilitation Center. We invited almost 30 people who have received therapy to share our joy at a picnic in the park. The Lord gave patients and workers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate physical and spiritual achievements outdoors while enjoying fellowship, friendship, and shishkabobs. As a result of coming for therapy and later attending summer camps and church services, 2 of our patients repented recently and are preparing for baptism this June.
As a nation, Ukraine held a presidential election on May 25th and elected Poroshenko. We hope and pray this new leader will be an honest and true servant of the people of Ukraine.
Prayer requests:
- Organization of a training center for physical
therapists in Ukraine - Training for therapists in working with new
patients and their families; counseling services at
the center; wisdom to speak the truth in love and
hope for families - Therapy equipment for children: a standing
frame, a gait-trainer, wheelchairs and shower seats - Camps for people with disabilities: July 13th – July 29th
- Wisdom in leadership for Ukraine’s new president
