The Saga Continues

Baby Moise (he has yet to be given a first name), the baby we took to see the Cuban Surgeon, was no longer crying and his temperature was normal --- but only for 24 hours, when he spiked another high temperature. We gave him medicine for the fever and it got under control - for 18 hours! At that point we changed the antibiotic. The same story for the next 24 hours.

What WAS the problem? The area around the umbilicus was healing well and he only cried when hungry or wet. Seeing the cyclic pattern of the fevers, we ordered blood work on both the baby and mother (since she was breastfeeding) to find other possible causes.

The answer came back: BOTH mother and baby were positive for typhoid fever! Since the mother no longer had a fever, she could possibly be a typhoid carrier. The medicine we were presently giving the baby for the first infection, can also be used for typhoid fever -- and, according to our Pediatric text book, the fever can continue during the first 3-5 days of treatment. So, ... finally, during the next 24 hours, no fever! (The mother was also started on antibiotics.)

Yesterday, mother and baby went home. The distance is 3 hours by car and, luckily, an HHF car was delivering food to that area so they got a ride home. Before they left, the mother called me the baby's "godmother" for all we had done. Though I was closely involved, none of this would have been possible without the resources of HHF! And HHF can only do as much as the donations it receives from people (like you??) in the United States.

This evening we had about an hour of high winds and heavy rain from one of the tropical storms circling around Haiti and Cuba. We heard that Port Au Prince had it for several hours and some people were injured/killed by flying debris. I am sure those still living in tents had a very hard time of it!

It is time to call it a night. Tomorrow we do our monthly distribution of food (beans, bulgar, cooking oil, peanut butter or tuna, and soap) to over 300 people, so it is time to get a good night's sleep. God bless. Stay well. And do pray for and, if you can, help the people of Haiti. Mary Ann

The ride to save a life

The ride was long - 3 hours each way over bumpy and, at times, treacherous mountain roads that rose so high my ears popped. We traveled across the island, going from the Caribean Sea side to the Atlantic side. "We" were the driver, Dr. Cezar (one of our 2 doctors at HHF), this mother and 3 day old baby, and myself. We were headed for a village that had a hospital run by Cuban doctors with training in many specialties. Dr. Cezar, trained in Cuba, is fluent in Spanish and was needed to explain the life or death situation of this child.

Just 24 hours earlier I had taken this picture. The baby appeared quite healthy - even big for most Haitian babies. But later that day the baby developed a fever. Other than the umbilical cord being unusually long and engourged, he seemed fine. We started antibiotics. At 11 that night I was called to come to the Center. The baby was crying continually.

His cry was one of pain and it was almost impossible to console him. A repeat examination showed the problem to be around the umbilical cord. So, as is protocol, we sent him and mother to the hospital, taking them by ambulance with the nurse accompanying them to explain the urgency of the situation. She called to say there was no doctor available, but they were keeping the baby. There was nothing more to do that night.

Early next morning we discovered that: Nothing had been done for the baby; he had continued to cry all night; the only pediatrician in Jeremie was too busy to see him; and there was no surgeon available. That is when it was decided that HHF would do whatever we could for this child. And so the trip over the mountains. Mother and I sat in the back of the vehicle with the baby in a bassinet between our feet. He slept most of the way - exhausted from the continual crying. (Our vehicles are Toyota Land Cruisers with the "back seats" being padded benches along both sides of the vehicle. People sit facing each other. Now, Mother and I sat facing each other with the baby between us in the bassinet on the floor.)

When we arrived, the Chief of Surgery met us at the door. As we entered the building, I was amazed to see a modern CLEAN outpatient department and hospital. Dr. Cezar began discussing the situation. In the treatment room, the doctor immediately identified the problem. The umbilicus was infected and had to be explored. Quickly attendants had the instruments and supplies needed. Ligatures were placed on the exposed cord, and it was removed as close to the abdomen as possible. The exposed and removed cord showed 2 sources of the problem - infection and a blood clot. The baby was sedated, the mother checked and found to also have a fever; she, too, was medicated and after much thanks, we began the long journey home. Oh, yes, we were charged NOTHING for all this. These doctors and this wonderful facility are free to the Haitian people. This is how Cuba is helping its poorer neighbor.

Last night, after finally arriving home and putting the mother and baby to bed here at the Center, I came away exhausted but, oh, so happy. This is one baby that will get a chance at life!

Take care. Till next time. Mary Ann

Sunday morning

It is not yet 10 AM on a Sunday morning and already I have: gone to Church where, in the course of the Mass sang 14 songs!; gone to the goat pen and freed our 2 resident goats to roam the grounds for the day; taken a picture of the latest mother and baby at the Center; prepared small "cados" (gifts) for the new babies to come; talked with a mother of a very emaciated little girl who leaves today for Port Au Prince to have the child seen by a heart specialist; and printed the picture I took to give to the mother! Now I think it is time to sit and have a cool glass of ...something! It has already rained this morning so I think we are in for a hot, humid day. However, right now the sun is shining and it promises to be another beautiful day here in Jeremie, Haiti.
May all be right in your world, too. God bless. Mary Ann

Remember the woman who didn't want to go to the hospital to deliver? She got there, delivered in about an hour, a few hours later returned to the center, and after a couple more hours I went to take a picture of her and the baby. She had already left to return to the mountains! That is what I call one tough woman!!

"I am not going!"

This morning I arrived at the Center to an uproar among the women at the laying-in center. One of the women had begun going into labor and was determined NOT to go to the hospital! As she said, "I don't like the hospital! It is so much better here!" Well, Elsie, our nurse, soon set her straight! "We do not deliver here at the center and you ARE going to the hospital!" The ambulance was summoned and off she went with 4 other women to make sure she stayed in the hospital. (To be honest, if I was her, I would prefer the Center to the hospital, too! )

This noon I heard that she had already delivered and would be returning here later this afternoon. That was a close call!
Till next time, take care and God bless. Mary Ann

Recoveries

Both of these young people lost a leg in the Haiti earthquake. Through the financial help of people supporting HHF, they were sent to a hospital that specialized in stump repair and prothetics. Both have received new limbs and now have a chance for a happy, productive life.
They came to see us to say "thank you" and to show us how well they were walking!
The boy had to amputate his own leg with a machete to extricate himself from beneath a fallen building!! As he said, "the earth was still shaking and I was afraid the rest would come falling on top of me. I had to get out!"
These two had not known each other before the earthquake, but both are from Abricot, a town beyond Jeremie. And both will be continuing in school this fall.
Miracles DO happen, one at a time -- and this is a story of TWO of them!
Take care. Do remember the people of Haiti, in both your prayers and your financial support! Mary Ann