There's still so much to live for....

**This was written previously, but posting was delayed while awaiting official paperwork. Just for the record, my job in Indianapolis had much longer delays due to paperwork. :)

Mode of Injury: Compressed by house.  I’ve written these words more than 100 times in the last few weeks. The census at the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) continues to rise as patients are brought here from acute hospitals to begin the long, difficult journey called rehabilitation. Many have lost more than just the ability to walk. Yesterday before seeing a patient I read this in his chart: “Lost wife, daughter. Home destroyed." He has no other family. Words can’t describe the degree of grief collectively represented at SIRC right now. And this is just one small fraction of the entire country.

But things are changing. Aftershocks are diminishing. Communities are rebuilding. Just today I sat in on a peer counseling session where one young man encouraged his fellow patients, “We may not have our legs, but we have our hands and our minds. There’s a lot we can still do.” This perspective has not come easily, but he’s determined, persevering to make new plans for the future. Watching his resilience in action, I see it fuel not only his own efforts in therapy, but those of other patients and staff members, as well. Myself included.

As a researcher/educator at SIRC, I have the privilege of spending time with people like Manoj. He's a Nepali doctor volunteering at SIRC. He's also currently applying for residency in my field, physical medicine and rehabilitation.

While nothing short of heaven itself will take away the depths of loss here, there are bright spots lighting the way. For the past 14 years SIRC has been fighting an uphill battle to bring awareness to the need for rehabilitation services in Nepal. Those efforts, which have shown brilliantly in these post-earthquake months, have finally paid off. The government recently asked them to be a national leader, expanding their services beyond spinal cord injury to other kinds of patients, as well as training healthcare workers throughout the country. SIRC is poised and ready to run, bolstered by this newfound support, a committed Nepali staff team, and patients who don’t quit.

“It feels like we’ve lost everything,” explains one younger woman, “but I can still cook. I can still feed and take care of my children, even from my wheelchair. There’s still so much to live for.” 

I couldn’t agree more.