So it’s day 5, 6 in Haiti?? I don’t know, I’ve kinda lost track. I know by the time this gets out it will be 8 or 9. We have a very busy place with a team of 40 here right now, water runs a bit scarce on these days and all the houses are very full. They also brought a team to cook while we are here, so it has been great for giving the kitchen staff to have a break. I miss the Haitian food and this kids love it. The kids also love the Vacation Bible School they are putting on. The construction crew nearly has the water pumps totally working, plus even more construction on the clinic. So far loving life at Canaan and in love with my daily cold shower. With all the people using the water supply there was talk of bucket baths for a while, but I’m in the one house with running water all 5 days, Thank you Lord.
I have had a full 4 days in clinic, and it just feels overwhelming. Every kid has cough, fever and diarrhea and doesn’t want to eat, all for 3 days, and it takes a bit of work to sort out who is sick and who isn’t with each patient. How do you really be sure who has pneumonia, UTI, malaria, typhoid, infectious diarrhea, or just a cold, without any testing or xrays on site???? It gets tricky for sure, grace and lots of prayer helps, oh and John Robert, the new doctor that works here, he’s been quite helpful. Then there are the occasional exciting patients too. The 6 week old with a 102 temp, the 2 year old with a fever for 2 weeks who had negative malaria and typhoid tests. Yesterday I drained a paronychia and an abscess, today I sewed up a kid from Canaan who cut his hand and leg on some sheet metal, but on Tuesday there was James Joseph.
He is a 7 month old I saw, who first came to clinic at 3 months of age. The mother was telling me he had a complaint of fever and pain, only to find that he had more than a fever. I didn’t know that the clinic has been trying to find him help in the states for months to no avail. This child has a genitourinary malformation that is only seen in textbooks, and typically is fixed at birth. He actually was born with his urethra (not his penis) coming out with below his umbilical stump, but then his reproductive parts are then stretched out towards his groin and then massive umbilical hernias that don’t reduce very easily w/o making him void everywhere. He voids through a small cleft in his lower abdomen, but it constantly leaks, and skin never heals. He also constantly gets urinary tract infections, and there is a chance that this cleft opens into directly into his bladder. It is a sight to behold. He has very poor quality of life, but he does eat, he does poop okay, and he can stand well enough and is starting to explore. He does have some reproductive residual parts, but a diaper doesn’t really work for his needs. But without testing it’s hard to tell what’s really going on. Needless to say he needs a pediatric Urologist and ASAP. The problem is they don’t exist in Haiti. I’m not going to post pictures b/c it is quite grotesque and not fair to the child
So I am calling on you all: I am calling on you to pray. Pray for healing, pray for open doors and provision and pray for willing spirits. When I come back to St, Louis I am going to start a search for this child. Specifically how to pray is 1.) I need to find a hospital that will take him, and either someone who will pay for his hospital stay or hospital that will do it for free. 2) I need a surgeon who will do the procedure and 3.) a host family for the child for a family that is non-english speaking. ( in fact the family speaks Haitian Creole and French). So this thing will not happen by my strength, or anyone here in Haiti, so I am asking for prayer now, and to be praying for hearts of people. If you think you have these connections please let me know, at joyful251@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to send you pictures for the professional aspect.
I will write more later, but this child is heavy on my heart and something like this could be fatal if not fixed eventually. I won’t accept failure until I know I have used every gift and resources that Lord has given me and the community around me in St Louis and Canaan. God bless you all!
Steph
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