Meet more of the kids!

Here are the rest of the kids I work with in the Physiotherapy room. I hope you enjoy getting to know them, they are full of surprises. Not a day goes by without at least one of them surprising me!

Meet Tien:

Tien was slow to trust me. It took at least a week for her to let me know that she knows a lot of English. She's incredibly clever, loves puzzles and signing along to popular clubbing songs -- her current favorite is 3 by Britney Spears! Her right side is incredibly weak. Though she can do whatever she pleases using her left hand, she struggles with simple tasks with her right hand. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she looks like she suffered from some kind of stroke. Her right eye is lazy, her right leg is smaller and less muscular as well. She is supposed to spend her time practicing crawling but is usually seen sitting, as in the picture, ordering the other kids around. Though she can be a bit of a bully, she knows when she's gone too far and apologizes. I've been teaching her the alphabet and numbers and she's picking it up very quickly! I'm also greatly delighted when she scoots up to me and says: "Chi Aki, Tien massage please?".

 Meet Huy:

 Huy is a bundle of joy! At first, I wasn't able to recognize his expressions on his ever changing face. With time I've come to see the difference between pain and pleasure. Huy is constantly in motion, suffering from involuntary, violent, and sometimes seemingly painful muscle twitches. To get around, Huy rolls himself over with surprising eagerness. Though non-verbal, he makes his desires clear with loud squeals. In the physio room he is working on sitting. Such a simple task is extremely difficult for him because of his twitches. He often falls out of his special seat. Such a lack of control over one's body could lead one to be angry or resentful of his limitations, but Huy always comes up with a smile when he takes a tumble! 

 Meet Nhi:

 Nhi is one of the best people I've ever met. She is always willing to lend a helping hand and is quick to laugh. She is probably the most physically adept kid in physiotherapy. She can walk, talk, and is in control of her movements at all times. She has a slight limp to her walk and I work with her to stretch and strengthen her right leg to make walking easier for her. When she's not bored and starting vacantly at the television, she's helping me and Chi Phuong (the girl I work with in the physiotherapy room) with the other kids. She walks Phong around the room; chases Tai so that he walks faster; helps get Huy back into his chair; teases Nam and Mr. Huy to make them laugh; jokes with Mai and Tien, encouraging them to crawl. She even fetches the bucket we use to help the boys pee! Recently, she's taken to help me with the massage machine. Though she tends to get in the way more than helping me with that particular task, I enjoy her company and the pure delight she shows when helping. 

Meet Nam:

Nam reminds me of an old lady! He practices standing in the corner of the room, observing the antics of all the other kids, yelling out "Troi oi!" (an expression equivalent to "Oh my god!") at opportune moments. He seems to be more than content to stay out of the fray, though participating in his own way by his frequent comments. He often will call out "Mot! Hai! Ba!" (or "one two three") when I bend to pick up a child to bring them to the massage table. He's also picked up on my murmured "yoisho" and has taken to yell it out whenever I try to pick up the flailing Huy (he's a heavy little guy!). Nam is a great observer of human behavior. He can tell when something untoward is happening and makes sure that I know about it. I've come to trust him to keep an eye on things while I concentrate on a particular task.