Embracing a Passion Through the Art of Giving
By: Hank Havlin
When I first saw the email from ATI to participate in the Global Reach international service trip, I was immediately intrigued. Recently, I had discovered a passion in this field from a similar trip through my graduate therapy program. Being a young therapist, I was nervous to apply for the trip due to the responsibility of having to treat and care for people in a country I had no prior experience in. Without the oversight of professors or colleagues that I had worked so closely with in school, going with Global Reach was an entirely new challenge that I was ready for.
After completing the trip, I was reminded of how much I love what I do, and serving others in another setting highlighted that even more. I was amazed to see how grateful the people were for our service, even when we could not help relieve their pain. The patients were grateful just to have reassurance that the pain they were experiencing was normal and would continue to heal. One thing that shocked me was how compliant the population was with home exercises. In the states, you have to fight tooth and nail for people to do even the simplest of exercise routines, however, these patients would return after a month away from therapy and know exactly what exercises they were tasked with from their last visit.
The gratefulness and humility expressed by the people reassured my passion for this field and I’m glad I was able to bring comfort to those that experienced pain. The population of patients were more neurological than I typically see at an ATI clinic. This made exploring an entire branch of my profession that I do not commonly see much more enjoyable. It challenged me, but I loved it.
Without a doubt, this trip benefitted me as a therapist and as a person. I was able to practice and improve my skills while highlighting the importance of communication. Having a language barrier, communication was an issue as translators were not always available. Body language became even more important when you could not exchange information as readily. However, you quickly learn how to get the most information efficiently and continue with your care as the next patient in line waited patiently for help. Some patients would wait hours to be seen, however they always expressed their gratitude after every completed session.
Going with ATI Global Reach certainly has furthered my passion and pursuit of working in the global health industry. I am excited to continue my practice abroad as it refreshes my fire for practicing at home. I am incredibly grateful to Nancy and the Hearts in Motion staff for allowing our team to join them in their mission to help the community and provide relief for those in need. I hope that one day I may be able to return, but until then, I will always take this experience with me when I am helping others.