A patient came to clinic last month. He arrived on a Saturday with his aunt. He could not walk and was only able to speak his name, Pierre. His aunt brought him for skin infections in multiple places. His aunt did not know how old he was. He appeared 7 or 8 years old to me. His mother has 6 kids, but she has not cared of any of them- she leaves them at her sister’s house. His father passed away while in prison. Pierre had multiple skin lesions that did not correspond with the medical history provided. He has a seizure disorder and had been suffering from increasing frequency of seizures. He had been able to walk and talk, but apparently lost these abilities due to the increasing frequency of seizures. He had a followed a hospital for the seizures, but his aunt stopped taking him for unclear reasons. He was severely malnourished. His aunt stated that Pierre had never been to the RHFH clinic.

Pierre was admitted to the inpatient malnutrition center. He was started on anti-epileptic medication and has not had a seizure since admission. He has been receiving daily wound care for his numerous skin wounds/infections. He started talking a few days into his admission, he does not always make sense and often cannot answer questions appropriately, but he is able to communicate. He also started walking again. First with assistance, now hesitantly on his own. He often sings and dances as his strength allows.

His aunt told us he had never been to our clinic before. But a record search revealed that he had been to our clinic before. He had been admitted in January of 2016 for severe malnutrition. During that admission, he had seizures which were easily controlled with medication. He came to 3 follow up appointments in 2016 and then stopped coming. His level of function has decreased drastically since 2016, likely secondary to uncontrolled seizures. Pierre is 18 years old. He weighs 40 pounds.