Occupational therapist follows her heart to Africa

Occupational therapist follows her heart to Africa

A Brisbane occupational therapist has returned to her African homeland to assist burns patients.

Jody Mills is serving four months as a volunteer occupational therapist with the world’s largest private hospital ship, Africa Mercy, off the coast of one of the world’s poorest countries, the West African nation of Togo.

Jody said her role on the ship as hand therapist involved working with plastic surgery patients, mainly those with severe or functioning burns contractures, and assisting with rehabilitation, from splinting and exercise to scar management and compression garments.

“In Togo, health care and especially burns specialist centres are very limited,” she said.

“Without proper care initially after a burn injury, people can develop terrible contractors and disfigurement

that could have been avoided.”

Jody was working at a hospital in Brisbane when she met a physiotherapist who had volunteered with the global charity.

She said her African adventure was a unique experience that was both challenging and rewarding.

“The best thing about this whole experience has been to work with the patients,” she said.

“The hardest aspect of the work is seeing people turned away when either the schedule for surgery is full, or there is nothing that can be done to help.

“Seeing patients and having something valuable to give them is quite an amazing feeling.”

Jody, who embarked on several short-term missions to the Philippines while in high school, said she had always been interested in mission work and was especially passionate about making a difference in her African homeland.

“I was born in South Africa and lived there for eight years before moving to Australia and have always had a big heart for the people of Africa,” she said.