Patient Stories

Since 2018, the Alliance for Health and Rehabilitation (AHR) has partnered with health providers in Yucatan, Mexico to make a difference for people in need. Adults and children coping with pain, injuries or mobility issues have found new paths to recovery. For patients and therapists, it’s a journey of gratitude and hope. Over three trips from 2018 to 2023, 20 therapists have provided 350 treatments averaging one hour per treatment. Education for patients and community therapists is included in all treatment sessions. Sites for therapy include outpatient clinics, a general hospital, and schools. Volunteer teams from the U.S. include licensed physical and occupational therapists.

For one patient, Senora A, working with an AHC volunteer physical therapist provided relief from the pain she had suffered for weeks. A custom splint for an injured finger joint was designed to decrease the tendency of the joint to dislocate. After a weekend using the new splint, she returned to the clinic smiling and proudly reported she had “no pain.”

At one pediatric clinic, two young boys arrived who had been missing group activities at school because they could not sit independently. The Alliance’s volunteer physical therapist created safe sitting options for them so they could participate with their classmate in circle time and sing the parachute song. It was a day that brought smiles.