Though COVID-19 in South Asia prevented Ingrid from doing her usual physiotherapy, she continued to use her gifts to treat a patient through WhatsApp.

Ingrid provides home-based physiotherapy with an SIM ministry that enriches lives through spiritual and physical care. She and her husband have served in South Asia for 15 years.

Before COVID-19, Ingrid visited and worked with children with disabilities twice a week. She makes a difference in the lives of a number of children and their families.

But her new telehealth patient did not fit this demographic. An acquaintance of Ingrid’s contacted her when the shutdown began and asked if Ingrid could treat her father who had recently been discharged from the hospital after a stroke. 

Ingrid met with him over video, although it was her first experience treating a stroke patient through telehealth. Her previous consultations focused on orthopedic therapy rather than stroke rehabilitation. Though it is not an ideal venue, it helps close long distances and bypass traffic complications through the crowded city – which can take two hours to cross.

The sessions required four people: the patient, his son, another family member to hold the phone, and Ingrid. The therapy occurred five times a week. Ingrid said: “I added more difficult exercises as the patient progressed. Some days I reviewed the previous exercises to make sure they were being done correctly.”

The meetings differed from Ingrid’s customary work, but during the pandemic, little remained the same. Fortunately, the Lord equipped Ingrid with adaptability and a heart for the hurting.

Ingrid said: “Doing things by telehealth took about double the time as in person, but the man received physio during a crucial period of his recovery.”

Ingrid saw participation from family members and improvement in the patient. She said: “The son wrote down the exercises in a notebook and did them with his father once or twice a day and the father made great progress.”

Neil also met with people using WhatsApp who were suffering from various illnesses and prayed for their healing.

They adjusted to ministry and creatively enacted the Great Commission through technology.

After a short time in Canada, they have returned to South Asia and are seeking for God’s leading to serve in another location.

Pray

• For more physio and occupational therapists to join SIM to minister to those in physical need as well introduce patients to the Gospel
• For Neil and Ingrid to find the right location for future ministry