Diana Marcela – 6 years later

Diana lives with her family in Punto Hermosa, outside Lima on the beach. She traveled 2 hours to the Yancana Huasy wheelchair clinic on Monday for replacement of her wheelchair; she is now 13 and after 6 years she had completely outgrown it! She received full service follow-up that included not only a replacement wheelchair, but other therapy input as well. She came with her mother and older sister, with whom she lives.

We worked with Diana before, but she did not have as much follow-up as she will going forward, since Yancana Huasy has developed a solid program with 24 hour postural care and 6 month follow-ups. Her mother had come to training classes and was already positioning Diana therapeutically at night using materials she had at home. They were augmented with a foam knee rest to make it easier by supporting Diana’s legs in the middle. This is really important because she already has hip problems that will be made worse by lying with her legs both going in the same direction.

But that was not all. We learned that Diana’s mother has back pain that is worsened by lifting and carrying her daughter, and they have never been taught how Diana can take part of her own weight and help with transfers instead of being lifted. As part of the clinic day they learned this technique that we hope will help save a mother’s back while giving a teenage girl some responsibility for helping with her own transfers

By the end of the day Diana Marcela left with a new wheelchair that she can move herself with her feet, a leg rest to use at night while sleeping and new transfer skills to practice with her mother. It feels great to know that she will be followed by Yancana Huasy and get the support she needs going through her teen years!