Pak Dharma lives up in the mountains and works on a farm that grows vegetables and fruit. He lives with his wife and parents and doesn’t have any children yet. In July 2016, he had a stroke affecting his left side. Almost a month after the stroke, Pak Dharma was still very weak and could only lie in bed. If he needed to go to the bathroom, he had to be helped by several people. The team from Access Life Bali met him and began to help him with basic exercises to help him get out of bed independently, which included advice to raise his bed off the ground. (It is very common here to sleep on a mattress on the ground.) The team also educated the family on a healthy diet and provided him with a wheelchair. Their family was happy to receive a wheelchair to relieve the burden of carrying Dharma to and from the bathroom and around the house, as it required several people to help carry him.
The team continued to follow-up with Dharma and were very pleased with his progress. After 3 months of exercises he could get out of bed and stand by himself. The team began to encourage him to walk again using a cane. Two years later, he was able to walk without using a cane and has returned to working on the farm again. We are so proud of Pak Dharma and his hard work to recover after the stroke. Our team continues to follow up with him and his family to monitor his progress and give encouragement.