A Celebration!

On Friday, one of our clients, Cecilia, completed the treatment program she started almost two years ago. Appropriately, this was celebrated by all. One of the therapists, Susana, explained to the new clients that because of the group modality of treatment, success for one person really is a success for all. Everyone contributes to the others' treatment.

Therapist Pablo, Therapist Susana, Cecilia, Social Worker Débora, Therapist Mariel

To this end, Friday was spent cleaning and cooking, as everyone worked to prepare the site for Friday night's celebration. I helped the nurses prepare food and clean the kitchen, as the patients scrubbed down the building.

Afterwards, the patients watch a movie (Along Came Polly), and got to snack on some of the cookies for the evening.

At 6, everyone went home to spruce up (or to the bathrooms), and at 7 the guests began arriving. Cecilia's family and friends were invited as well as the social worker from her insurance company (these social workers do regular audits on us, to ensure things are going well for their clients and the patients are improving), the families of all the other patients, and the kids of some of my coworkers.

Things opened with the national anthem, and then the President, Débora, spoke of Cecilia's accomplishments in treatment. It was a really nice speech, where she basically said that love was the heart of treatment. Everyone at El Bohío loved Cecilia and cared for her success, and everyone invited to the celebration was part of that success, due to love. (I was especially surprised that God wasn't credited or thanked, as the program is very spiritual, and God tends to been seen as the center of everything that happens at El Bohío.)



Snacks consisted of deviled eggs (the yolk was mixed with mayo, herbs de provence, and carrots!), sandwiches de miga (pictured above, simple ham and cheese sandwiches served for every occasion of any importance, oven double- or triple-deckers), pigs in a blanket (although this term was new to them, they just called them hot dogs covered in dough), and little pastry shells filled with either a ricotta-olive mixture, or ricotta-ham (also pictured).

Lots of pictures were taken--like in a wedding. Cecilia and family, Cecilia and staff, Cecilia and original patients (pictured below, with me, the original beginning English class I taught), Cecilia and all the patients, Cecilia and friends...

Jenn, Emiliano, Cecilia, and Pablo

The evening was wrapped up with cookies, cake, and Argentine folkloric dancing. It was a beautiful, festive evening, that left us all feeling really proud.