Beginning the Battle April Admits
In March we admitted lots of tiny babies, but April brought us, several big kids. It’s pretty rare for us to see children over 2-3 years old in our programs, but this month we admitted 4 children who were 5 years of age or older. We are thankful to be a place of healing, not just for the tiniest babies that come our way, but for every single child who is in need of care and the treatment that we provide.
On April 9th, when 20-month-old “Y” was admitted into our inpatient treatment program he weighed just 19lbs. Y and his mother Marie Jocelyne were referred to our center by one of our community advocates, and come from an area that has been deeply affected by the current instability and political situation plaguing Haiti at the moment. Y’s sweet mama is learning all she can from our staff while they are at Middle Ground and we are sure that when they return home she will be a fierce advocate, not only for her own son but for all the other children in their neighborhood. Y is currently being treated on our Medika Mamba program.
The second child who was admitted on April 9th was 2.5 year old “O”. O was severely malnourished and suffering from wasting (also called marasmus). O was a mighty fighter and after just a few days of F75 therapeutic milk, he was able to graduate to Medika Mamba. After only 18 days in inpatient care, O had gained an astonishing 4lbs and had fully recovered and was able to go home with his mama, Manoucheca. He is now enrolled in our follow up program.
Finally, also on April 9th 28lb “K” was admitted, he was just 5 days away from turning 4 years old. “K" was suffering from kwashiorkor malnutrition. On the day that K was brought to Middle Ground by his mother, Julienne he was swollen and immediately begin treatment with F75 milk. Several days later he was able to graduate to the Plumpy Nut (Medika Mamba) program, where he has healed and thrived beautifully.
On the 16th of April, 8-month-old "E" was admitted, also as a referral from our community advocacy program. He weighed 14lb 8oz. E is tolerating Medika Mamba well and is working on putting on some healthy pounds. His mama, Fabiola is staying by his side for his treatment.
On April 18th 6 year old JR was admitted to Middle Ground as a referral from a local nurse who runs an incredible rural clinic in the mountains several hours south of our clinic. The area that he is from struggles with extreme poverty and a devastating lack of advanced medical care. JR is severely malnourished, weighing only 24lbs, and soon after his arrival testing showed that he is also affected by a heart defect. We are optimistic that the doctors do not believe that JR needs corrective surgery at this time, but his condition is fragile and we will continue to watch him carefully, and pray hard for his body to have the strength to recover and begin to heal itself. JR’s mother, Elicia is staying with him at our center.
On April 23rd we got a double dose of sweetness when we admitted siblings, 9 year old “M” and his 8 year old sister “L”. This precious family lives only a few miles from our treatment center, M and L’s mother, Marie Lourdes, as well as their baby sister (who is still breastfeeding) are all staying together at Middle Ground. We anticipate that 39lb M and 34lb L will spend a few weeks in inpatient treatment before they are ready to be discharged into our outpatient program. We are looking forwards to seeing how this family thrives, and how their lives will be changed after their time in our programs.
On the 27th of April we admitted 6-month-old “E” who weighed in at 12lbs 1oz. E is still stabilizing and being treated with f75 milk. We are hopeful that he will be able to graduate to Medika Mamba in the next few days. E’s mama, Fabiola is by his side comforting him and getting to know all about how to best meet his needs as he grows.
Finally, on the 28th we admitted our last patient for April, 2 month old “M”. Sweet M has endured more in the first few weeks of her life than could ever be justified. She arrived at Middle Ground in the care of her grandmother, who is desperate to see her grandaughter healthy and well. “M” does not have access to breastmilk, and she has a few other medical needs that we are treating, along with severe malnutrition. In spite of being swollen with extra water weight, M weighs only 10lbs right now. We are hopeful that she will continue to do well on F75 and be ready to graduate to infant formula soon. Once she well enough to return home, M will be enrolled in our formula program to ensure that her grandma has everything she needs to keep her well at home with her family.
We are honored to be trusted as a place where children like M, E, M, L, JR, E, K, O and Y can heal, and their caregivers can be encouraged and poured into, empowered to be the best they can be for their children. Please join me in praying this month for these sweet babies and the women who care for them.
