New ROMP video of October 2009 trip

Joseph Krizinauskas has done it again. Check out his newest video post to You Tube about the ROMP volunteer team that worked a week in Guatemala this past October 2009. Happy New Year to everyone and thank you Joseph for your inspirational video.

Guatemala, Range of Motion Project, October Clinic 2009

David Krupa

ROMP Volunteer Posts to You Tube

Joseph Krizinauskas, O&P technician and two-time ROMP volunteer in Guatemala, recently posted a beautiful video about his experience working in Guatemala in July 2009. Please check out Joseph's video HERE.

Joseph, thanks for your hard work in Guatemala and for sharing your great photos in this video.

David Krupa

A day of donations...

It's always an exciting day when we get to go the ROMP storage facility in Hickory Hills, IL in order to go through and process all the awesome donated equipment waiting in piles and boxes for us! We do this every couple of months, and I hope you can appreciate how exciting it is to see the return addresses on boxes sent from all over the country. Last week, Dave Krupa, Greg Krupa and I spent the day stripping and organizing components. We received tons of donations of equipment from all over the place, so thank you:

Scheck and Siress Prosthetics and Orthotics in Chicago, IL
Michael Smerka (my old classmate) and Hanger P&O in New York, NY
Jessica Drake and OmniCare Labs in Effingham, Il
Fionna Quinn and Hanger P&O in New York, NY
Malcolm Owen and Endolite in Centerville, OH
Stephen Schulte and Prosthetic Care Inc. in Suanee, GA
Ed Roman and Merrick-Hopkins Prosthetics in Chicago, IL
Leslie Allen and Allen Orthopedic Labs in Greenbrae, CA
Northwestern University P & O Center in Chicago, IL

..and many, many others who donated anonomously (or we couldn't read the label). In addition to the donations from the facilities that collect used prosthetic limbs, we also love receiving donations from individuals who care enough to pack up and send us devices to be used in Guatemala. This past week, we were all moved by the note we found inside of a donated spinal brace used to correct scoliosis:

So thanks Allie, and all those who send us your donations. We rely on this, and appreciate it very much.

We're all in it together.

Eric Neufeld 12/20/09

Northwestern Students in Guatemala BLP7

From October 23 to October 31 the first group of O&P students from Northwestern University came to Guatemala! Three orthotic and three prosthetic students. We are starting to expand the services that ROMP offers to guatemalans by providing more orthotic care. During the week 6 KAFOs, 4 AFOs, 1 FO, 1 UCB, Fracture brace and some arm orthosis were provided. It was a great feeling to be able to help all our patients and to give the students the opportunity to practice, to fabricate and to give a hand to people who otherwsie have no access to orthotic and prosthetic care. I hope that more students feel inspired to come down to Guatemala, to work hard, to be creative, to get tons of smiles from our patients and to be part of ROMP!

Daniela Duran Krupa

ROMP First Upper Extremity Clinic

ROMP carried out its first upper extremity clinic in Guatemala thanks to a significant donation by the Berkowitz Family Foundation. The ROMP clinic in Zacapa celebrated its fourth anniversary this October. For four years we have been visited by numerous patients with arm amputations. Unfortunately, we have never been able to consistantly provide upper extremity prostheses due to a lack of parts. In four years we have only delivered two arm prostheses. Until this October. We saw seven upper extremity patients and by the end of last week delivered 5 prostheses. The other two patients never returned for their fittings but they will be scheduled for future appointments. Thanks to the Berkowitz Family Foundation donation we now have a fully stocked inventory of upper extremity components. It was shocking to see so many arm amputations due to machete attacks and electrical burns. Wives attacked by husbands and a young man attacked and robbed leaving his work. ROMP will continue to expand its upper extremity services but we need more donations aimed directly at this project. Spread the word and help us meet this great need in Guatemala.

Dave

October 2009 FIRST GROUP

I would like to commend all of the volunteers who came to Guatemala from Oct 16-25 for a job well done. The team worked countless hours with dozens of patients. They were at times up against language barriers, oppressive heat, rapidly approaching deadlines and the chaos of the work week. In spite of the challenges, the volunteers of HIM/ROMP OCT 2009 dedicated themselves to the tasks at hand with an enthusiasm captured in the smiles contained within this photo. It was an honor to work with you all in Guatemala. You changed the lives of many Guatemalans and your efforts will long be remembered. Hope to see you all again very soon.

Dave

Two Weeks in October

I am in Antigua now. The last two weeks I've been at the clinic in Zacapa with two seperate volunteer groups. The first week we worked with more than 30 new prosthetic patients. This was ROMP's first official upper extremity clinic and we provided 6 new prosthetic arms with specific funding from some of our donors. During the week photographer Marc Altman captured the essence the ROMP mission in Guatemala. I encourage everyone to visit his own blog HERE. The second week of work we hosted the first group of recently graduated O&P students from Northwestern University. We hope that this trip with Northwestern was just the first of many to come.