Apr. 29 - Karl - Malnourished Baby

Yesterday afternoon a grandmother came to the gate holding onto a young baby whose name was Karl, as we were backing out to pick up a hydrocephalus baby and mother at Bernard Mevs Hospital. She told us that the baby's mother was crazy and that she was looking for an orphanage to take in the baby. We told her to sit on the porch and wait for us there until we got back from the hospital. When we got back to the house I took some photos and then started to call a couple of people that I knew who had orphanages to see if they had any openings. As I was talking on the phone the baby's condition took a change for the worse. He was starting to pant breathe and then his eyes "clouded". The grandmother told me that the baby was doing fine in the morning but that the mother had hit the baby. This is why she was walking with the baby looking for help. She also said that the baby had been discharged a few days ago after being hospitalized for 1 week at Hopital Nos Petit Freres et Soeurs. We transported the grandmother and the baby over to the hospital and the baby was admitted. Four hours later the grandmother called to say that Karl had died. This morning the grandmother came by with the death notice from the hospital and the cause of death was listed as sepsis. Please keep this family in prayer. This baby went from an alert crying baby to a baby in crisis in a matter of a few minutes. Each day we never know what problems we are going to be involved in that day. I like the challenge of trying to find help for people but it can get frustrating when we can't get the help people need in time.

Apr. 29 - Kentucky Friends - Food Donation

Our Kentucky friends finished their mission work here in Haiti and still had some mission funds remaining. They went out and bought some more food for us. This really helps us out a lot and we are thankful for the help :)

Apr. 28 - Godley, Philemon - Died

Today I read the report in Lancet about the lack of surgical care in poor countries around the world. Over 30% of deaths are due to surgeries not available for the poor. Saturday 2 people that we know died here in Haiti because of the fact that there are no specialty surgeons here to treat their cases. Gerard is a Haitian man who has been a friend of ours for years. Years ago his son Powerful went to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a heart surgery. His heart developed problems a few years ago and he was in need for a valve replacement. Heart surgeries are expensive and it is difficult to find a free surgery overseas for heart surgeries. Powerful was on the Haiti Cardiac Alliance waiting list for a surgery but his heart gave out before an opportunity opened up for him. Gerard is a Christian. He gave his son the names of Powerful and Godly when he was born. Saturday afternoon Gerard came to the house to tell us that his son had died that day at Bernard Mevs Hospital. Pastor Octave is helping the family to arrange the funeral for Powerful. Philemond, the man with the mouth tumor also died on Saturday. Jim and Debbie Hambrick, and Dr. Karen McCarthy never gave up searching for medical care for him. In the end the cancer was too destructive and nothing more could be done for Philemond. Philemond was a member of Pastor Marcelin's church. It is good that both families are being helped and comforted by pastors of churches that we know (Pastor Octave and Pastor Marcelin). We can take comfort that Powerful and Philemond are now in heaven where their suffering is over. Pray that Haiti will one day have a heart surgery and cancer center. So many people die here in Haiti because of the lack of specialty surgeons.

Apr. 27 - Lauren Pierre - Nose Deformity

Lauren and Laurense Pierre are twins. They live with their mother in Cite Soleil. The major difference between the twins is that Lauren was born with a lack of nose cartilage. Dr. Hobar and the Leap team have evaluated Lauren over the last couple of years and at first the team thought that the specialty surgery that Lauren needs to construct a nose would have to be done in the United States. Saturday Dr. Hobar met Lauren and her mother and told her that the team were going to do the surgeries here in Haiti. She will be needing multiple surgeries to construct a nose. The first surgery will be done Lord willing the next time the Leap Team comes to Haiti. It will be neat to see the progression between surgeries of her face.

Apr. 27 - LEAP Foundation - Hopital Espoir - Plastic Surgeries

Thursday April 23 were the evaluations for the LEAP team that came to Hopital Espoir. The teams' focus is repairing cleft lip/palettes and other plastic surgeries, urological surgeries, and if there are spaces available for hernia repair surgeries. These surgeries are done for free. We brought 7 children and their parent to the hospital early Thursday in Kimosabee to get there early, hoping for a spot on the surgical list. The team arrived at the hospital Thursday afternoon and by then there was a line of patients at the hospital all hoping for a spot. Pastor Pierre came down with a few people from Kenscoff who had hernias as well. Even though the patients shown here didn't get accepted for this round of surgeries they are on the waiting list for when the next Leap team comes to Haiti sometime in October/November 2015. We give the Lord thanks for all the surgeries that were performed over the weekend. Without these specialty surgical teams the Haitian children would not have their problems corrected here in Haiti.

Apr. 27 - Job - Youngest Coram Deo Resident

Job is our youngest Coram Deo resident. His uncles, Joel and Jeff, are looking after him. The family is poor in all ways and we are hoping that a stay here can raise the family out of the situation that they are in. Job is all set for the May rainy season! He got a gift of some bright yellow boots and toy construction equipment. These are the perfect gifts for a young boy to play in the rain in :)

Jackenson - Hospital - April 27

Jackenson was discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Wednesday he received a blood transfusion and it helped to perk him up. You can tell when he is feeling better when he starts joking and making funny comments and faces. He knows how much I like to take pictures and did his best not to pose well for them :) I am glad that we were able to purchase a portable DVD player that came with a larger screen for Jackenson and his hospital roommates to watch DVD's when he is starting to feel better in the hospital. Every time we went to visit Jackenson in the hospital some of his Coram Deo friends came along to cheer him up. Pray with the extra blood he has that he has more resistance to illnesses. We are trying to bulk him up with extra energy shakes that have a lot of calories in them. He enjoys them. Jackenson says hello to everyone and especially Ti-Bouche and thanks everyone for their prayers while he was in hospital.