ASHLEY

She is 13 months old and weighs 18 pounds 12 ounces.  Ashley comes from a village not very far away from us.  She is an only child.  Her father died several months ago.  Her mom is 8 months pregnant.  The new father of this child does not see that it is his responsibility to care for Ashley.   Ashley’s mom was told by many in her village, doctors included,  not to breastfeed Ashley when she found out she was pregnant with the new baby.  So, when Ashley was around 5 months old, she was taken off the breast.  Her mom has been trying to feed her and purchase formula.  Both are an extra cost to her.  Ashley’s mom believes that she drank “bad milk” from her (breastfeeding when she was pregnant) to cause her current sickness and she does not believe that she is this way due to malnutrition.

Ashley’s legs are so swollen that they have split open in several places.  Water leaks out of them throughout the day.  She also has a bad fungal infection.  She eats and drinks some but not enough, so we might have to put a feeding tube down.  We are trying to encourage her to eat and drink.  She is currently on the medika mamba program.

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LOUISEMIE

Louisemie is 21 months old and weighs 13 pounds. Her dad brought her and was very emotionally upset. He did not know what to do for his daughter. Her mother has gone crazy since her birth. The family tells us that her breast milk has gone up into her head. They say this alot when someone is not mentally stable. She cannot be located. She is living in the weeds somewhere. The family cannot find her. A neighbor found Louisemie at her mom’s house one day. She was sitting on the porch crying. They do not know how long she had been there. The other family members left early in the morning to go sell produce in the local markets and left Louisemie with her mom at the house.  They found Louismie in the afternoon. The neighbors waited on the family to get back home. It seems like the dad was not living with the mother. The family members then took Louisemie to the dad and told him he needed to take care of her. They did not want the responsibility of the mother and Louisemie. So, dad kept Louisemie. He saw that she was “all dried up” (small and malnourished). His neighbors told him that the clinic in Cazale takes “dried up kids” and “kids that are swollen” so he brought her to see if we would be willing to help. She is currently on the medika mamba program.

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JOEL

He is 5 months old and weighs 7 pounds. He has kwashiorkor, which is very serious for a baby under 12 months old. In his 5 short months of his life, he was been through a peroid of kwashiorkor 3 times now. His mom has no other kids. When we asked her why she was not breastfeeding, she said a doctor in her village told her not to breastfeed because she has a sore on her breast. The doctor then prescribed infant formula for her to buy. She bought some, but it was very expensive. The doctor did not just tell her to purchase “infant formula.”  He gave her a prescription for one of the most expensive kinds in this country. She tried to water the formula down some and added a lot of sugar so Joel would drink the formula. She took the baby to a clinic by her home run by a “mission group” and they gave her formula, but they were only there for a week and did not return.

Joel’s hemoglobin is only 5.4.  This is very low.  We are doing what we can for him.

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ORISMOND

He is 3 years old and weighs 18 pounds.  He has had diarrhea for several weeks.  His mom and dad both came with him to the clinic. He looked so bad that we brought him in right away like we would an emergency.  He was having a hard time holding his head up and sitting.  His sugars were very low.  I wanted to take him in right away and get a IV started, but the mom and dad did not want to leave him with us.  They said they needed to go home and talk to the godparents of the child to see if they would allow this.  The staff nurses were very upset and told them that Orismond would die before they made it back up the long mountain path to their house.   The parents were scared, very scared.   I wanted to help him, but I have to assure that the parents feel safe leaving him here.   There was a lot of talk with the nurses and other staff.  I suggested that they leave him and the mom stays with him.  Even though the tent has 12 in it, we will make some room somewhere.  There are 6 other children waiting for her at home.  She could not stay.  I suggested leaving him and going up to talk to the godparents and other family members.  If someone does not agree with this him staying, then they can return and take him back home.

This will give me at least 24 hours to get some IV fluids in and a few doses of meds.  We talk some more and I learn that they have had 2 other children die of kwashiorkor.  After talking with some more friends from their village, they decide to leave him.  We fill out paper work.  The family tells me they are not christians and asked if it is okay for him to stay here.  YES!  Of course, YES!  I tell them that God can do great things.  They say they will wait and see what happens to Orismond.  Pray for them and this precious boy. Orismond is currently on the medika mamba program and on a feeding tube.

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NOCKSON

He is 12 months old and weighs 14 pounds.  He has kwashiorkor.  His legs are split open and leaking water in several places.  His little skinny bum is covered with bed sores and those are leaking water as well.  He will not eat or drink anything.  Not even water.

We had to put a feeding tube down on day 2.  He comes from a village that is about a 10 hour walk away.  His mom is pregnant with about the same story as Ashley’s above.  Nockson’s aunt gave up a day’s work to bring him.  She said that she went to visit her sister and saw the state of her child.  She was shocked.  The mother is in her 9^th month and cannot make the 10 hour walk to the clinic.  The dad is busy farming each day from dawn to dusk.

Nockson sleeps almost all the time.  We wake him up for bath time and are still trying to get him to eat.  He is currently on the medika mamba program.

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MIRIANA

She has been with us off and on for several years.  She is HIV positive.  She has recently went from 35 pounds to 23 pounds in just a few weeks because of diarrhea.  Her parents are afraid that if she has another bout of diarrhea that she is not going to make it.  She also is following at a clinic that treats HIV patients .

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So, these are the kids that were admitted last week.  I do not judge these parent for the choices that they make.  I only listen and try to explain different ways I think they might be able to improve the lives of their kids.  Some have made bad choices.  Some do not know what to do.  Some do not seem to care.  Some are in a desperate situation looking for help.  These are the stories that I hear weekly.  They are hard and difficult.  I never want them to think they cannot tell me the truth.  I want to know the truth, but sometimes the true story is hard to hear.  From the stories and from looking at the child, I make the decision on whether to admit the child or not.  We never know when death will come, but I think that several of these kids had a high chance of dying if they did not receive help quickly.  Many of these families need simple education.  We are doing all we can right now.  In the future, we want to have educational classes for these parents, but I only have two hands right now.  I am doing everything that I can.  I know many of you care deeply for the children in the RC.  You pray for them and you think about them throughout the day.  That means a lot to all of us here at RHFH.  We thank each of you!  We appreciate you!  We do not know what each day will bring, but we know that no matter the problems, good times, bad times, heartaches and victories that Jesus is right here with us.   That gives me hope.