Gaining strength, hope and skills

Anil Pariyar is 29 years old. Following a fall from a tree in 2019 he suffered a spinal cord injury, causing paraplegia. Before the accident he had been a low wage worker and the sole provider for his family because his brother suffers from mental health issues and his mother has had a stroke. When our team met him he was worried and hopeless as he couldn’t even move around. His mental and spiritual health were going downhill as well. Our pastoral care team and rehabilitation team worked on his mental and spiritual health as well as physical rehabilitation.

At every session he used to ask us if he would be able to sit up. After some days he looked a little more hopeful and happy. We initially worked on bed positioning, range of movement and upper limb strengthening exercises then started with vocational training such as knitting and other activities that he could perform while lying down.

After 42 days of bed rest, we started working with him on trunk strengthening exercises, sitting balance training, bed-to-chair transfer and wheelchair mobility. After he was able to mobilise himself in a wheelchair independently he was discharged, since the rehabilitation service was going to be closed due to Covid-19. He was called back later in 2020 for vocational training where he was taught sewing, craft, cooking, and fashioning fabric such as sheets etc. When he was discharged after vocational training he was also given a hand sewing machine thanks to donations given for rehabilitation patients.

Now he is independent (with a wheelchair) in activities of daily living. He comes independently to the hospital for follow-up and sometimes brings his mother for her follow-up visits too. We have realised that vocational training gives hope to patients with spinal cord injuries, as well as making them feel they are a valuable part of their family. Since his discharge, Anil has taken further sewing training in Kathmandu and is seeking a small premises to use his new skills to provide for his family.

Key Highlights
During the year 2078-79 (July 16-July 15 2021-2022):

Rehabilitation