When Proyecto Juan Diego’s staff were doing their survey of the local community, we found a 46 year old man, bedridden, paralyzed from waist down. He and his wife live in a 3 room home which they share with another family and their newborn baby. The man had been working and fell off a step-ladder 4 months earlier. He did not have any insurance because he was a part time employee and therefore had no medical benefits. The company did take him to the emergency room and immediately surgery was done for his injuries- but no other follow-up was given- nor did he have any hope. When we met him, he was able to get up in a wheelchair with assistance but was not really using any of his lower or upper extremity muscles. They were deteriorating. We purchased a trapeze to place over his bed so he could move himself around. We also took a physical therapist to his home to evaluate him. She in turn gave his wife and I instructions how to follow-up with specific exercises. Now, four months later, with the continual follow-up of the physical therapist and PJD staff, he is feeling tingling sensations in his lower extremities and his muscles in the upper extremities are getting much stronger. He now has a hope for a fuller life with more possibilities than before. We are also helping the wife to adjust to the extensive care that is required for someone who is paralyzed. The family cannot express the benefits that our presence brought to them. They have many challenges to face in the future but now have a support system and people around them that understand and care.

Written by Sister Phylis Peters, DC and Blanca Escobar