Vimean Srun, 46, has been a Humanity & Inclusion physical therapist in Cambodia for the past 20 years. He recently shared the story of why he became a physical a therapist and where his career has taken him.
“I decided to become a physical therapist at a time when there were almost no Cambodian PTs,” says Srun. “Physical therapy departments were just beginning to open in hospitals.” He was inspired to become a PT after witnessing the plight of people who had lost limbs due to landmines as a result of the civil war in Cambodia.
“I was deeply saddened seeing people who suffered bodily mutilation caused by explosive remnants of war planted during the Khmer Rouge regime.”
After working for several years as a physical therapist at the public hospital in Kampong Cham, Srun joined the Kampong Cham Physical Rehabilitation Center run by HI in 1998. Today he is the head of the physical therapy department at. Although he is a manger now, he still loves working with patients. In addition to providing care for people injured during the war, he cares for children and adults with many different types of injuries and disabilities.
Today he is working with Khin Sou, a four-month-old baby diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Srun massages Khin Sou’s muscles and performs exercises designed to help improve his reflexes and motor skills. And after two months of treatment, the Khin Sou has already regained some of his functionality.
“Working with patients like Khin Sou and see them improving thanks to my efforts gives me the motivation to get up every morning and come to work,” says Srun. “It’s the fulfillment of the dreams of my youth.”