Ike's Devastation

Hurricane Ike has caused wide spread devastation here in our village due to flooding. Hundreds have lost their homes and everything they own. Fortunately the orphanage was not effected other than loss of electricity for 4 days although we did evacuate for a little of 24 hours as the flooding came within 20 feet of the orphanage on two sides.

Our neighbors on the side toward the river have all been effected and really need your prayers. We are spending every minute we can helping them clean out the piles of mud (6 to 12 inches deep) from their little shacks so they can move back in. Please pray for the people of Haiti as the flood damage is nationwide here.

More Little Faces

On August 1st, two days after our triplets came, we received a nine-day-old baby boy, Jean Kendy (pronounced Kendzy). Jean's mother died and he was immediately brought to us. It is always sad when a child loses their mother but particularly so in this case because Jean's daddy had lost his first wife 12 years ago and had to give up his daughter to me at that time. The poor man is so distraught. I can't even imagine his grief going through this a second time. Jean Kendy was not very well when he came. He was very yellow with jaundice, was dehydrated, and a bit lethargic. He is doing much better now and is a normal five-week-old.

Five days after Jean Kendy arrived, Adam arrived at two-weeks-old. Adam was already a strapping 7lb 6 oz little guy, which is huge for the newborns we usually receive. He has a darling, chubby face, a big appetite, and a thick head of hair. He is doing very well.

On August 12th, we received another newborn, Pierre. He was rushed here immediately from the hospital. He arrived at our door not breathing. On further assessment we realized that he had experienced a very traumatic birth, which was later confirmed by the doctor. The mother lived an hour and a half away and was unable to receive adequate medical care. We did all we could for him, and worked for four hours trying to get him to breathe but it became obvious that there was nothing we could do. When we looked at the clock and saw it had been four hours and Melinda was still breathing for him, we put down the ambu bag (used to provide rescue breathing) and laid our hands on him and prayed. We asked God for mercy, either healing on this earth immediately or healing in heaven immediately. Little Pierre was gone by the time we opened our eyes. Melinda made the very difficult call to the doctor and the grandmother soon came. We buried Pierre in our private cemetary the next morning in the presence of several neighbors and family members. It was sad but we were glad that he was in heaven, free from pain and laying in the arms of the Savior and completely healed.

Update on Alyssa, Carlos, Steeven and RoseLisa

Alyssa is doing very well at the moment, despite having numerous illnesses since birth, including skin infections. She has also been on IVs off and on. At present she is doing very well. She turned three-months-old last Sunday. She is still small for her age.


Carlos' hemoglobin has come from a level 2 to the current level of 12. He is doing amazingly well for as sick as he was. In the last two months, his development has been great, despite the neurological damage he has which the doctor has advised is permanent.


What can we say about Steeven? He is slowly making progress. His skin seems to be clearing up little by little. He is holding his head up more consistently on his own. We are exercising his extremities every day. He now reaches for toys hanging from his play-gym. He is eating some semi-blended food and overall is doing well. One of his continuing problems is constipation and being able to relieve himself on his own. He has to have frequent enemas or suppositories in order to avoid pressure on his abdomen and the resulting pain. He occasionally laughs and does make eye contact with us now, which he did not do before. We are very pleased with his progress.


As you may remember, RoseLisa is the little girl with crippled legs. She was very sick with dehydration when she came. She has gained weight and is now doing very, very well. She is sitting and playing with the other children, and has finally become accustomed to her bedtime routine. Her mother comes every evening to play with her and put her to bed, and is learning to care for her special needs. We are very, very happy to have received news from Lori that she has found a surgeon that may be able to help RoseLisa with her condition. You will probably be able to follow this up on Lori's blog at a later date.

Triplets

At long last, here is an update on the triplets we received on July 29, 2008. We are sorry for the delay because we know so many of you have been asking about them and praying for them. We have been so busy taking care of them that it is only now that we have had any time to introduce them to you! As we have no infant monitors, the triplets required 24-hour observation during the first two weeks. Melinda, Valdo and I took three hour shifts throughout each night during this time, and I continue to do the night shift now.

The above picture is of Paulentzka. She weighed 1.3 kilograms (just over 2 lbs) when she was brought to us. She and her siblings were born eight weeks early. During the first two weeks with us she had two episodes of respiratory distress (i.e., she actually stopped breathing), which required rescue breathing. She was on oxygen and prolonged IV treatment. Because of her critical condition she actually lost weight, but is now back up to her birth weight. She is currently doing very well and is able to take one ounce of milk every three hours.

This is Valentzka. She was the first born of her siblings, and was the tiniest at 1.25 kilograms. She has been the most unstable of the three. She was not breathing when born, and was on oxygen for her first three weeks. She has had a lot of bowel issues, which can be fatal for premature infants. She is still on IVs, and is not able to take in She is being tube fed 5 cc's (approximately 1 teaspoon) every three hours. Her body temperature is unstable, constantly dropping and requiring her to be on the warming table. She remains in serious condition and needs your prayers.

This is Viventz, brother to his two sisters. He was originally the strongest of the three -- and largest, at 1.5 kgs -- but in the first week he quit breathing once and had a severe infection with jaundice (yellowing of the skin). During this time he became very weak, and for several days we were very concerned whether he was going to survive. The infection has now resolved, however, and he is taking one ounce of formula every three hours and gaining back the weigh that he lost.

Thank you so much for praying for these little ones. We are happy to report that Paulentzka and Viventz are now stable. Please continue praying for Valentzka in particular, given her serious condition, and that all three remain free from infection. I am in my element watching these babies not only survive, but begin to thrive as little people.

Our Triplets!!!

We received a set of premature triplets on Tuesday. They are 8 weeks early and weigh in at 2 pounds a few ounces each. A future posting will tell about their arrival and more information about each baby.

Update on Carlos and Steven

Carlos on arrival
Carlos 9 days after he arrived

Carlos is doing much better. He is eating well and drinking milk from a bottle. The pneumonia he arrived with is almost gone, and he has begun to show us his spirited side. He can sit unaided for short periods and is much more interactive. Carlos still complains when we pick him up, but then settles in quickly. He seems to have good and plentiful blood flow and now we are just continuing to care for him as be builds up his strength. Carlos' family is still undecided as to what they are going to do regarding his future. Thank you for praying for Carlos: God indeed has worked a miracle in this little boy.

Steven on arrival

Steven 10 days after arrival

These pictures are to give you an idea of what these little boys looked like when they came in and what they look like now. Steven still has little blisters on his body which were are treating and cleaning with an antibiotic wash and cream. He seems much more alert today and responsive. Steven has been off of oxygen all day today and seems to be doing well. He drank 2oz of milk on and off today. The moaning that was so consistent is less and less and he seems much more content. He sucks his fingers for comfort and we assume that this was a comfort to him, and maybe the only one, before he arrived at our door.

Emergency Room

My bedroom has become an intensive care unit for the last 5 days! We already had 2 babies in my room, and 3 more showed up within 24hours on Sunday/Monday.

Micah was born at Sunday afternoon at 1:00 and his mother and grandmother brought him to us at 4:00. The grandmother works at our facility and they came because Micah's mother was ill and could not breastfeed him. They thought she had the mumps, but later found out that she has an infection and is highly anemic and is not doing well. Micah is doing really well here at HCH, and will be here until a decision is made regarding his future.

Carlos arrived at 8:00 on Monday morning with his aunt and grandfather. He was very unresponsive, moaning constantly, and stopped breathing on several occasions. His toenails and fingernails were filthy, yet we could not miss the white color due to the lack of oxygen and blood. Due to his severly dehydrated state, we could not get him going on an IV site for 10 hours, and resorted to clysis, putting fluid under his skin on his back, to hydrate him. His hemoglobin was 2 (normal is 13-16) and so he was given a blood transfusion that evening after we secured an IV site. He tolerated the blood well and it amazing to see the color change in his toenails and fingernails. He is not tolerating his tube feedings well, so this evening we fed him cereal by mouth. It was a fight to get him to eat it, but he kept it down. Carlos cries and moans constantly and does not like to be touched, although he responds to being picked up and cuddled. With a hemoblogin like he had, it is only by God's grace that he is still here with us. His family told us he was 8 months old, but he acts more like a 20 month old in size and weight and development. He plays with his hands and hums and reaches to hold your hand. His dehydration has left him quite swollen and his body cannot absorb the feedings we have given him. He seems very uncomforable and we are still unsure as to exatly what is going on with him. Please keep Carlos in your prayers. Carlos just minutes after arriving. He really was this color due to anemia, and as he came to life he had a wild look about him.

Here is a comparison between Carlos' skin and the foot of a normal healthy baby. Notice the significant color difference and swollen creasing of the top foot

Carlos sitting with Jojo and receiving a blood transfusion. His overall coloring changed significantly with this life giving blood

Steven: This baby was the third to arrive, and I guess I would say was in the worst condition. When Lori and I went down to look at him, and saw what condition he was in, we both cried as we carried him up the steps. It is so sad to see a baby in this condition no matter how many times you have seen it. He had sores all over his head and his body looked like it had been charred, and we found out later that he had indeed been burned. His skin on his body was dark and dry and was coming off in clumps. He is 16 months old and weighs around 9lbs and is swollen throughout his stomach and his legs. He will not drink anything by mouth, and is on IV's and being tube fed nasally. The father told one of the fellows that stays here that the child had been at the witch doctors for several weeks. We have no idea what they gave him there or what they subjected him to. The father said that many demonic things were done to the child in search of healing, and one practice that we are aware of is "baptism by fire". This practice involves building a bonfire and tossing the child over the fire from one adult to another. This is done to ward off evil spirits. From what we can tell, there is singed hair on his body and limbs and this is what has led us to believe that he was subjected to this horror. It appears to us that Steven is not responding to any affection or interaction. He is not consoled with human contact, and is only starting to be comfortable with being held. We bathe him daily and put Eucerin on his dry, singed body. Our hearts cry out for him for the pain that he suffers constantly at such a young age. He is not out of the woods yet, so your prayers would be appreciated. He is in respiratory distress and as we listen to him we are thinking more and more that it is due to smoke inhalation.

Steven's body is very dry and has very poor skin integrity due to what we believe he was exposed to with a witch doctor.

Lori holding Steven just after he arrived. You can see how sunken his fontanel was

After a bath

Me sitting with Steven as he received IV fluids and some human contact

We are very thankful for the volunteers that have come to help us! They have all been wonderful at pitching in here and there with our emergency and the regular happenings in the house. This would have a very difficult time without their helping hands. We give God all the glory that these children are coming through these difficult circumstances.