Next, Bwambale, a child I personally thought would either die or be whisked away in the night by his tired mother. He came with dangerously severe kwashiorkor, and an also-malnourished little sister. Soon we realized that he was much worse off than she was, and slower to respond to milk, because he also had sickle cell anemia. It took over a month but his swelling finally subsided, new skin finally appeared under all the peeling patches, he finally took interest in the world. Meanwhile his sister also began to thrive, so his mom is now lugging home two heavier kids.
Mbusa's mother brought all four of her kids to live on the ward for the last few weeks, because she had no one else to help her care for them. He smiled mischievously as we prepared his discharge today, and his sisters clamored to have their picture taken too. They will probably find home rather tedious after all the excitement.
And then, Gloria. Gloria's lethargy on admission was heartbreaking, and her mother's almost as significant. And no wonder: this mother was from another part of the country, had had her 3 month old infant die this summer, and now was watching her 2 year old dwindle down the same path, and she was going through all this basically alone. In the 32 days of her admission, Gloria's father only came one time to see her. In spite of all that, she departed 2 kg heavier than she arrived, with a new hold on life. And her mother did some hard thinking about her own situation and decided to take Gloria back to her ancestral home in hopes of both of them surviving. I pray they will.
Lastly, Rick Thomas, getting his third lease on life, discharged and well when he could easily have been dead.
Their beds were being refilled before they could even bundle their belongings out the door, but for a moment there was joy over these slow saves.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the joy with us. My face is covered with a smile as I look at these precious ones and read of their new hope! Thank you, Jennifer and Scott, for giving of yourself...mind, body, soul to serve your Savior and these people of Uganda. We love and pray for you.
Praising the Lord for His mercies, new every morning and working through your capable hands to heal and give life! Thank you for sharing!
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