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"A New Horizon: Challenging Disabilities, Embracing Infinite Possibilities" The story of a girl's ability to overcome disabilities and challenges.

"A New Horizon: Challenging Disabilities, Embracing Infinite Possibilities"

The story of a girl's ability to overcome disabilities and challenges.

The case manager and physiotherapist at Sened Organization met[K(1] [MS2]  the 32-year-old girl during the field survey Incirli village in the personal container. When she was 17 years old, her life changed due to an electrical accident,[E(3]  which led to her suffering severe burns and neurological disabilities. She was also diagnosed with hemiplegia (inability to use the legs due to loss of feeling in them) So she cannot walk without help and suffered from quadriplegia after her accident. Since spasticity is predominantly in the lower extremities, the girl can stand with support, but has difficulty walking without support. Although the spasticity in the arms is less affected, fine motor activities are very difficult.

The girl lives with her parents. Although her father did not work after the earthquake, he receives a pension. On the other hand, her mother used to go to work on an hourly basis in the gardens, and unable to work full-time because her daughter was dependent on her for personal needs, the mother. was. In addition, the mother was suffering from numbness in her hands (carpal tunnel syndrome) and a herniated disc (lumbar disc herniation) due to overuse caregiving to her girl.

After determining the foundations of this addiction, our physiotherapist determined the intervention program for both the girl and the mother. At the same time, our psychologist had regular weekly meetings with our beneficiaries.

“In the end, you are tied to someone and you are not independent on your own,” the girl says.

Meanwhile, she was relying heavily on her dedicated 54-year-old mother for daily care and living, but her dependence on her mother not only negatively affected the mother's life, but also affected her mother's social life and personal time.

Initially, recognizing the urgent need to regain the girl’s independence, the sessions provided by Sened, focused on pain management, regulating muscle strength, and providing basic assistive devices, including a specialized toilet seat that was modified to enable her to provide personal care independently[E(4] [MS5] . In order to increase access and independence, an ergonomic assistive device with a long handle is provided to facilitate access to objects. Special exercise programs have also been prepared and implemented gradually in order to increase activities of daily living. follow-up treatment are provided within the scope of telerehabilitation to increase exercise compliance.

“Now, even if my mother is far away from me, I can take care of my needs myself.”

The turning point came with carefully designed personal exercise regimens to enhance the girl's self-care abilities. These sessions not only increased her physical mobility, but also instilled a new sense of self-sufficiency. Gradually, the girl began to access things beyond her control and mastered self-reliance for her basic needs such as bathing and using the toilet.[E(6] 

With the increasing individual independence of the girl, her social life developed positively, who was previously dependent on her mother, can now visit his relatives and friends living outside the village. She can use her wheelchair without worrying about individual needs.

The impact was not limited to the girl alone; Therefore, as the girl's independence increased, her mother found the freedom to re-engage in her personal life and started in a full-time work that[E(7]  could provide financial income, and was relieved to know that her daughter could now manage basic tasks independently.

Disability does not determine a person's identity, abilities, or ambitions.