Two weeks ago, we had 93 kids in the rescue center.  That week we began to search for parents of recovered children and send them back home.  Four days out of the week, we had 2 staff members that traveled by tap-tap, motorcycle and foot for hours to locate family members of many of the children.  Currently, we are down to 75 kids!!!!!  This is a huge success to me!!

I have had to be really picky on the children that are admitted into the center.  That is very hard for me.  Last Monday, a 3 generation family arrived at our gate.  It was a non-clinic day so to speak.  All that really means is we were not open to the usual 250 patients, but for emergencies and dressing changes.  We talked to the grandma and mother and looked at the tiny set of twins.  They were so small and weighed in both at 4 pounds 8 ounces.  What to do?  Trying to make and have a balance between too many kids and helping the ones that really need it makes for tough decisions.  Could I make room for these two kids?  Taking them in means that I am making at least an 18 month long commitment to them.  So tired of trying to do the right thing to make others happy.

Mama could not really talk.  She was out of breath and very weak.  We asked grandma to share their story with us.  Mama has two other kids at home.  The father of the kids told her he did not want to have any more kids right now.  She got pregnant and he took off.  She did not know that she was carrying twins.  She came to clinic one time to be seen when she was 5 months pregnant.  She had the twins, a boy and a girl, at her home with a midwife that did not have much experience.  She lost a lot of blood.  She passed out and did not wake up until the next day.  Her mother was very worried.  She was scared and by herself with 4 kids now.  She called in others to help.  Day after day, she believed that her daughter was going to die.  She prayed that she would live.  She fed the babies sugar water.  Last Monday, she decided that she was “well” enough to make the long trip down the mountain paths to the clinic. 

Everyone that comes to clinic dresses in their best clothes.  The best that they have.  This mom and grandma did not even have shoes.  They do not come out of the mountains often and have not been down our way for many, many years.  We did some test on the mama and found her Hmg was only 4.6.  This is very low and she needed blood.  The nurses explained to grandma that she would need to go to Port to be able to get blood for daughter.  We suggested that she might donate for her.  Grandma was very upset.  She said she did not want someone to cut her wrist and have her daughter drink her blood.  We took a long time explaining the process and how it would help the mama.  The babies were admitted.  Grandma and mama slept at a RHFH staff member’s home that night.  The next day, they traveled into Port with a RHFH employee.  Mama was admitted to a hospital.   The hospital requested 4 liters of blood.

The RHFH employee now had the huge task of getting blood.  We hear story after story of the difficulties of getting blood for patients.  It is hard to get  done in a day and many times it takes several days.  The RHFH employee returned to Cazale and left the mother and grandma in the hospital.  Early the next morning, he left before the sun was up.  He spent the whole day at the Red Cross office simply trying to get blood for the patient.  Before he could get blood for her, they wanted 8 people to donate for her.  So, for every liter we had to find two people to donate.  No other family member were around to help so what are the options?  How can you find someone to donate blood?  Well, there are people that wait outside and you have to make a price with them for them to go in and donate.  Sad, but true.  He was able to find 3 people to donate and, after much talking, was able to get 3 liters for her.  It was late and he had to take the blood to the hospital himself.  He had his little cooler ready and transported the blood to the hospital.  That night they started giving her the blood.  She was released the next day and is now back in Cazale.  She is not totally well, but better.  She has postnatal cardiomyopathy also.  We are monitoring her breathing and swelling.  Her Hmg was 8.2 today.

The babies are doing fair.  Their names are Marie Denise and John Loudy.  They are very fragile and small.  We usually see that little ones like this always begin to take off and gain weight when they can reach the 6 pound point.  Will you join us in prayer that these two little ones will make it and live?  Will you pray that the mother continues to get stronger and healthier?