Some children just capture you, and that is how we feel about Kiril. This was our TEAM’s second year to work with him and we are so excited to share about this little guy. Kiril has a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. At first observation on this most recent trip, Kiril was interested in us and uneasy around us at the same time.  He definitely had to develop trust with someone in order to interact with them.  He is a very inquisitive little boy and was intrigued by our new toys but wanted to play with them on his terms.  Our occupational therapists slowly engaged Kiril and he enjoyed some time sitting in their laps and liked the feeling of a tight hug once he felt more comfortable with them.

Kiril is able to walk all around his room, and learned to walk on his own, despite spending so much time in his crib.  He likes to hold toys in both hands, and then he would often use his feet to play with other toys.  We were all impressed with the precision he could play using his feet, but he was frequently a bit too rough while playing.  We definitely feel he is a smart little boy because he responded so quickly to instruction and to use “soft feet” when playing after he was shown how to play more appropriately.  We do feel that he gets over stimulated very easily and reacts when this happens.  Since Kiril sometimes reacts negatively when over stimulated or when he feels threatened we feel like a family will need to take this into consideration.

He currently vocalizes sounds and vowels, but we did not observe words at this time. We also observed Kiril working on potty training during our time in his room.  We feel that Kiril presents with some very intricate challenges but has so much potential at the same time.  Our TEAM feel he could learn so much in a family that could help him feel safe and help provide the stability, structure, and the sensory input he so desperately needs.  We would love to share more pictures and information about Kiril.  Please join us in praying the right family finds him!

Our TEAM has gotten to know this happy little guy over the past several years. When we saw him in April 2010 we were able to work with him during a presentation at the orphanage in front of doctors, staff, and caregivers.  We watched then as Vanya attempted to take his first assisted steps using a walker we brought with us on the trip.  He was very weak, and tired very quickly, but those beginning steps happened with the assistance of our physical therapists.

This year when we returned in October, our first view of Vanya was him in his walker, moving about his room!  It made our hearts so full to see the change in him over the months since we had seen him last!  He can pull himself up to standing position when he is holding on to something.  He is currently very vocal, but is not using words.  He plays with sounds, smiles, and laughs and has a very expressive face!  He enjoys engaging in play while laying in the floor, fun toys, and we worked on reaching and pointing to things he liked while in a seated position.

Our occupational therapists say that Vanya has good visual tracking skills and has full movement of both arms.  He was able to hold toys and objects and was beginning to drop things into buckets during play.

Vanya’s smile definitely stole our hearts, and we are praying that his family finds him soon!  We would love to share more about this lovable little guy!

We are so excited to introduce you to Sasha!

TEAMWorks Ukraine has been able to work with Sasha on three different trips beginning in March 2009 and most recently in October 2011.  Over the years we have watched him grow and change, and he is easily loved by everyone that meets him!  Sasha’s diagnosis is cerebral palsy and that definitely does not slow him down!

Sasha loves toys and being on the move!  He is fast on the floor on his hands and knees but he is also able to stand in his walker independently and walk with his walker independently to move about the room!  He has made significant progress with his skills in his walker in a short period of time.  It is felt that he will continue to improve with the use of his walker so that walking is his preferred mobility! He wears braces to support his feet in a neutral position and decrease tendencies to walk on his toes. He is able to sit on the floor and sit in a chair independently. Sasha is so sweet and has so much energy and desire to move, we are sure his walking skills will continue to improve!

Our speech-language pathologist was able to work with Sasha and feels his potential for improving speech and language skills is very high!  He is currently able to say single words, does well imitating sounds, and enjoys exploring toys and interacting with others.  We feel like with encouragement and someone working with him consistently, his speech and language would take off!  Sasha definitely knows what he wants and is very motivated to to get it!  While Sasha was playing with one of our therapists they demonstrated appropriate play with a cause/effect toy and Sasha began imitating the therapist very quickly!  It was so exciting!

Sasha is heavy on our hearts.  Due to his age, he is facing being transferred from his orphanage to an institution in around 6 months.  We feel like he has great potential and would do amazing things in a family that loves him! We hope and pray that a family will fall in love with Sasha and welcome him into their family! See below for pictures of Sasha from 2009, 2010, and 2011!  More pictures and video are available.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families…” – Psalm 68:5-6a

Sasha in 2009:

Sasha in 2010:

Sasha in 2011:

We were able to work with lots of kids while caregivers watched and asked questions. They also let us take kids that we weren’t able to see last year into the gym to demonstrate therapy techniques. We were able to demonstrate positioning techniques in some of the rooms with children who spend most of their time in their bed.

At the end of our day, the caregivers took us to another room to observe a child who is frequently upset and asked our opinion on how to help. As a team we gave them information on calming sensory techniques. We also got to demonstrate these techniques with this child. As we were leaving the room the child appeared to be more calm and was exploring the new toys we put in the crib.

We will spend our last day in Kiev, relaxing and sight-seeing before heading back home Sunday morning.

It was neat to see how everyone was really interested in the different equipment we used. As soon as we pulled out the bench, everyone was snapping pictures. And lots of people were interested in the swing and came to ask questions about it afterwards.

We spent the afternoon playing with the children. The caregivers were really open about us going around to each room to see all of the kids.

Mike went back to Slavansk in the afternoon to revisit the boy from the previous day and help with positioning for his bed. He also modified his activity seat and added padding since the little boy is sensitive to touch. Afterwards, Mike exchanged a better supporting wheelchair for a boy he had seen earlier in the week. The boy’s mother was so appreciative!

Thank you for praying that we would have enough supplies and equipment to give away today! The Lord totally answered those prayers!!! One of the biggest things we were worried about was not having enough braces, but we were able to give some braces away today and also had enough casting materials to order custom braces for several kids. AND we still have some left over for the next two days!! We were also able to give away more walkers and a wheelchair, and we left a walker at the center for the children to use while they are there throughout the week.

We saw several older kids today with autism, and it seemed as though none of them have ever received any help. The parents had lots of questions and we were able to give them lots of basic information for getting things rolling.

A mother came in who asked if we could go to her apartment, which is on the fourth floor of a building. She wasn’t able to bring her son to us, so we went to him. We were so glad that we were able to go because his diagnosis is muscular dystrophy and he was laying in a position that would be really bad for him in the long run. The information and help that Kati, Danielle and Mike were able to give them is really going to improve his quality of life and ease the difficulty of care for his mother. Mike is going to adapt a chair that the boy has so that he can have a place to sit; right now the boy spends all of his time in bed.

Please pray for safe and smooth travels over the next few days. We’ll be going to a different city Thursday night, then another city on Friday night, and flying out early Sunday morning.

We’ll also be giving presentation demos tomorrow and Friday. Pray that everything goes well, that we all have enough energy, and that our information would be well received.

Today was incredibly busy, and the rooms we were working in were constantly packed, loud, and full of activity! Many of the families we saw today have come to see us on previous trips, so it was nice to see them again and see how the children have progressed since last year!

We could probably dub this day “Physical Therapy Day.” Nearly every child we saw needed braces or a walker or both. Danielle is technically the only physical therapist on our team, but Kati stepped in and was a PT for the day as well. They worked incredibly hard all day, but it was well worth it!!

The parents were all so grateful… We gave away two strollers today to two families who have never used a stroller before. Parents normally carry their kids everywhere they go, and elevators in Ukraine are few and far between. We also gave away several walkers to children who really needed them. It was so awesome to watch these sweet kids wearing their new braces and using the walkers like pros! One sweet mother whose son got a walker said she didn’t even know that walkers existed.

Amy and Kara got to work with a little girl who has autism, and were able to show her mother some helpful techniques to help her with communication and behavior. They were also able to talk to a lot of parents about feeding and swallowing, as well as oral motor exercises and strengthening.

Mike measured a lot of children for wheelchairs, and is brainstorming what type of chair might be best since buildings here aren’t very accessible and the terrain is rough and uneven.

A lot of kids saw Allison and Kelly for arm strengthening needs and range of motion for tight muscle tone. They were able to help one little girl sit independently for the first time! Many of the kids had sensory needs and the OT’s introduced sensory strategies to the parents with success.

Overall it was a very busy and successful day for all disciplines. Tomorrow we will be working with families again in a nearby town…at least twice as many as we saw today!

Today we gave away LOTS of the supplies and equipment that we brought with us. It’s great that we were able to give these things to families that really need them, but please pray that we would also have enough supplies and equipment to give to families tomorrow, and to take to another orphanage on Friday.

Also, we were supposed to help move a little girl to a better room at the local orphanage on Monday, but she was sick so we weren’t able to do it. Please pray that she would feel better by the time we return to the orphanage on Thursday so that we can assist with this situation. We feel like this room change is extremely critical for her health and development.

P.S. Shout out to Gran Gran!

Kara and Amy had a very good day that was slow-paced. It allowed them to spend a lot of time with each of the kids that they saw. They spent quite a bit of time in the baby room, and they felt like this early intervention was very important. Olga told us that she saw several of the caregivers demonstrating our therapy techniques with the kids after we left the room. Kara and Amy enjoyed more time in group 4, especially with Lena. She loved the little vibrating toy we had, and was very purposeful in picking it. Several caregivers were concerned about some of the kids not making any sounds, so Amy and Kara also worked on various speech sounds with the kids.

PT and OT had lots of great highlights today as well. They spent quality time in room 4 with Daniel, Lena, Paulina, Vanya and Kyriel. The caregivers were very open to our ideas and encouraged us to continue showing treatment. Due to Daniel’s seizure disorder, the caregivers were instructed by the neurologist to limit his movement. However, they let us take him out of his crib today. He enjoyed the interaction and really lit up while we were playing with him! Paulina was fitted with braces and stood in a walker and walked for the first time! By request, Danielle and Kati taught infant massage to the caregivers. And Sasha has been walking independently in his walker around his room – which is a huge improvement from last year!

Mike, an equipment specialist, was able to problem-solve how to get standers made more efficiently here in Ukraine. He fixed all the broken standers at the orphanage and built 5 more standers today! He also put together wheelchairs, walkers and wedges for the kids. Tomorrow he will spend the entire day working at the local factory to design new blueprints and help with the existing ones in order to continue to provide various pieces of equipment.

Matt, Ginny, and Abby left on Friday, so we had a farewell lunch that day with the director of the orphanage and his wife.

The rest of our TEAMworks team arrived this afternoon – 7 people, 14 carry-ons, 15 suitcases, 6 walkers, and 3 wheelchairs. We have quite a busy week ahead of us!! But we are all so excited and thankful to be here.

First, we feel like the relationships with caregivers and doctors are growing and being strengthened! This is such an important component to the success of TEAMWorks mission here in Ukraine.

Next, we feel like after collaborating with doctors and nurses, we are helping facilitate a life changing move for a very sweet little girl. We were even asked by a physician to evaluate two children that she knows personally and will bring to the orphanage on her day off. Please continue to pray with us over this delicate situation.

And last but not least we feel we got to demonstrate the importance of early intervention with a little guy today-hopefully more of this to come!! We were able to demonstrate some very basic therapy principles that had instant results and impressed doctors and caregivers. Please pray for more opportunities like this to come!