Beginning the Battle November, December and January Admits
In November and December we worked hard to focus on end of the year fundraising, so today we are sharing with you all the admissions from the past 3 months.
These are the babies who spent Christmas at Middle Ground and rang in the New Year with us. We look forward to 2021 being filled with hope, growth and health for these babies and their families. We admitted 9 children in the past 12 weeks. Read their stories below
2 month old baby girl Bergeline was admitted into our inpatient program on November 5th. She was suffering from low birth weight and failure to thrive. She weighed only 10lbs 4oz. She and her mama, Seigneurla spent 63 days receiving treatment and breastfeeding support before being transferred to our outpatient family preservation program. During their time at Middle Ground Bergeline gained a total of 3lbs, and has continued to gain weight since her return home in early January.
On the day after Bergeline arrived, 4 month old baby girl Mia, was also admitted into our inpatient program. Mia was even smaller than Bergeline despite being two months older, she weighed just 9lbs, and she was swollen with severe kwashiorkor. Mia's mama, Roseline stayed by her side throughout her entire 34 day treatment, and when they left she carried a very happy, 13lb Mia in her arms. Mia is thriving at home and being followed carefully on our outpatient formula program.
December 7th brought us 2 new admissions.
The first was 20 month old Woodney. Woodney was fighting severe marasmus malnutrition and he weighed 16lb even on the day of his intake. Woodney spent 49 days in the center with his mama, Silvinia where he quickly learned to charm everyone. It wasn't uncommon to be sitting in the office and little Woodney burst in demanding a treat, with his mama running behind him trying to catch up. Woodney worked his way into all of our hearts, and his mischievous smile was an incredible reward to all of us who worked to hard to help him heal. By the time he left Woodney had gained an incredible 5lbs and went from a sick and lethargic toddler to a vibrant, full of life little boy who will keep his mama on her toes for years to come.
Our second admission of the day was 5 month old Naica. Naica was brought to us swollen with kwashiorkor and weighing just 8lbs. Her mother was very sick and her cousin was caring for her. Naica's extended family loves her very much and were very invested in her care. Her cousin stayed by her side day and night, and learned how to provide for Naica in the best way to help her grow. After 49 days in inpatient care Naica was transferred to our formula program, where she will receive infant formula until she turns one and is weaned to table food. Naica left Middle Ground having gained nearly 4lbs, while her cousin received over 100 hours of health education to help her care for Naica at home.
On Christmas Eve 23 month old Kerry was brought to Middle Ground by his mother, Bulluna. Kerry's feet and legs were swollen and he was diagnosed with kwashiorkor. He weight 24lbs 8oz. In the beginning of his treatment Kerry lost several pounds of water weight as his swelling diminished, it took him several days of treatment with F75 milk before he was stabilized and began to gain weight from healthy fat. Kerry spent a total of 28 days in inpatient care before he was discharged, weighing 27lbs 7oz.
Late in the evening on December 23rd we admitted 6 month old "JW". Baby JW was critically sick with kwashiorkor as well as a severe skin infection. Even being terribly swollen he only weighed 6lbs 9oz. Our team worked to stabilize JW and quickly referred him to a local children's hospital for more advanced care. Unfortunately despite with the efforts of the medical team there JW passed away from complications of severe malnutrition. We hold his mother, Odette closely in our prayers.
On January 14th 3 year old "M" was admitted for inpatient treatment by his grandmother, "S". M is incredibly bonded with his grandmother, who is his primary caretaker. S has taken great pride in caring for Mayco and his healing. She beams when she is congratulated by our staff for helping him get well, and she is learning more every single day how to care for M when they return home. On the day of his admission M weighed 29lbs 11oz and today he is well on his way to being discharged and returning home.
On January 16th 3 month old baby girl "L" was brought to us by her young mother, "L". Even though she was very young L was in love with her daughter and eager to learn how to take care of her. At the time of her admission baby baby L was swollen with kwashiorkor and weighed 8lbs 2oz. After being stabilized with F75 milk L's mama was able to begin breastfeeding her again. They are getting lots of breastfeeding support and encouragement from our staff, and it has been a joy for all of us to watch L's mama blossom in her role.
Finally, our last admission of January came in 11 month old "B". B was suffering from chronic malnutrition and weighed a mere 10lbs 2oz. B has his mama "J" by his side cheering for him, and he is slowly starting to wean from f75 milk to medkia mamba. Pretty soon we will start to see this little boy's precious smile, and I for one, cannot wait to watch his healing unfold.
Wow, what a few months to look back on. It's amazing to see the healing transformations that we witnessed laid out before my eyes. We cheered over complete transformation as children returned home, mourned the loss of one still brand new, and prayed over each and every baby as they worked hard to heal their little bodies. Please join me in praying for Bergeline, Woodney, Naica, and Kerry as well as their caregivers. Pray that they would remain healthy and safe at home with their families. Please say a special prayer for the family of baby "JW" today, and as often as you think of them. Pray for peace and comfort as they mourn the loss of their baby boy. Finally, please pray with me for M, L and B, as well as their caregivers, as they continue to fight their battle's against malnutrition in our inpatient treatment unit.
As we head into February we look forward to continuing to provide an open door and warm welcoming hope for those most in need of our healing care.
