Last Saturday afternoon, I was reminded of the medical
process here in Haiti. I scooped Ti
Jimson into my arms as he needed to go to the maternity section of the mission
to get his hemoglobin checked. They had
to turn the generator on for power in order to do this. In just a few seconds, we received the news
that his hemoglobin had gone from 5g to 3g in one day. Dr. Simone immediately had us go to the
hospital which is about 40 minutes away from the mission because he required a
blood transfusion. Once there, one of
the Miriam Center nurses and I walked him to the emergency room. She paid for a dossier for him, and I sat in
a chair with him as everyone just stared at this sick boy in my arms.
I must say, I was impressed with the quickness of the
emergency department of the hospital.
Within 30 minutes, they had an IV in him and were transferring us to the
pediatric “in patient” room. After a few
hours, I quickly realized that Ti Jimson would need a private room because he
could not battle infection with 17 other pediatric patients and their families in
the same room. On Saturday evening, I
made the best decision I could have ever made on a whim…we walked down the
hallway and this precious boy now had his own room. For so many Haitians this is not an option
because it costs about $30USD a night and a 5 night deposit is demanded before
transferring. The room is simple, but
clean (minus a few mosquitos and a dusty fan) and quiet…priceless in my eyes!
Ti Jimson received the emergency blood transfusion on
Saturday night. I looked on the bag of
blood, and it was donated by a visiting doctor on November 6, 2012. In the states we always hear about the “gift
of life” but here I was seeing it with my very own eyes. On Monday morning, we received the news that
Ti Jimson’s hemoglobin was 7.3!!!
Although we praised this report, we still needed answers. Ti Jimson has been coughing, having fevers up
to 105.1, liver is enlarged, refusing to eat, crying in pain, etc. The pediatrician has been wonderful, but only
has time to see him once a day because she is the only pediatrician right
now. Her time is stretched thin between
the ER patients, the clinic patients, the orphanage patients, and the hospital
patients.
Every day has presented with more tests and more
medications. It has gone through my
head, “are we simply putting a Band-Aid on the situation or are we indeed
treating something?” Pneumonia meds,
fever meds, malaria preventative meds, etc.
Blood work is looking better and the chest x-ray doesn’t look too bad
anymore either. Wednesday and Thursday nights
were quite the scare with a 105.1 fever, no eating, diarrhea, respiratory
distress etc. An emergency IV was given
as well as 2 shots (one for fever and one for respiratory trouble.) Again, the Lord became our Great
Physician…the medicine worked both nights.
I finally feel like the little guy might make it. I sit here just praying over his little body
that the fever does not come back, that he keeps his food down, and that he rests
to gain all the strength he has lost this past week. I truly believe that God wants this child to have
one more miracle to add to his collection!
See, he is already a miracle in so many ways…he is a special needs child
living in Haiti, he is a true orphan, and he has battled many illnesses in his
short life.
I could go on and on, but it is not needed. I simply want you to ask for a hedge of
protection over this sweet boy. His body
is weak, and it needs strength. May he
feel loved each day that he fights, may he be comforted when he hurts, and may
he be a LIVING testimony of God’s love for all of those like him!
Little story for this
season of giving…
A nurse came in last night, and saw that we had two
thermometers on our shelf (one being an old fashioned mercury one.) She said, “You have much thermometers, could
you give me one?” She is a nurse at a
hospital in Haiti and she needs a thermometer!
She said we had “MUCH” and we had two…reality, for sure!