Warriors Of Victory - February 2022 Graduates
Putting together this blog is quickly becoming one of my favorite tasks of the month. It is incredible to look back on these photos and see the transformation in the faces of both children and their caregivers.
If you ever needed a reason to believe in the work of Middle Ground, these stories and photos are the perfect inspiration.
Meet the mighty warriors who beat malnutrition in our programs in February...
*all photos and stories shared with permission
On September 3rd, 17-month-old Woodloveson was admitted into inpatient care by his mama, Stamina. He weighed just over 13lbs. Woodloveson and Stamina spent 60 days in our inpatient program before being transferred to continue his healing in outpatient treatment. Another 12 weeks of medika mamba at home (for an incredible 339 total sachets) brought Woodloveson to a healthy 21lbs, a weight gain of over 7lbs. His upper arm measurement went from 103mm on admission to 150mm by the time he was fully recovered!
Lovelie was first admitted into our inpatient program in March of 2021, where she was treated for severe marasmus. She did well in the program and graduated after 93 days, gaining over 4lbs. A few months after Lovelie returned home, her mama, Alta Grace, tragically passed away. After her mother’s death, Lovelie became sick and lost weight again. On December 10th, 2021, when Lovelie was brought for a follow-up appointment by her papa, our staff decided that she needed to be readmitted for inpatient treatment again. Lovelie’s daddy, Samuel, stayed by her side through her 55 days of treatment and watched his baby girl go from 19lbs 2oz to 19lbs 8oz! Her upper arm measurement increased 13mm, and she consumed a total of 90 sachets of medika mamba. We are confident that with the education that Samuel received at Middle Ground, and the support of our social worker, he will be able to keep his baby girl healthy at home for many years to come.
On November 27th, 10-month-old Anne-Marie was referred to Middle Ground by our friends at Partner Haiti. She weighed just 9lbs 8oz and was suffering from severe marasmus. On the day she was admitted, Anne-Marie’s upper arm measured just 93mm! On February 4th, after spending 69 days in our inpatient treatment program and consuming 76 sachets of Medika Mamba, Anne-Marie had gained over 6lbs and was ready to return home with her mama, Ismane.
On January 22nd, a woman named Jennifer brought her baby boy, Oscar to Middle Ground. Oscar was three months old. He was severely swollen from kwashiorkor and suffering from a bad skin infection. Oscar weighed 14lbs 4oz upon admission and spent nine days on F100 therapeutic formula before he was able to tolerate regular infant milk. Ten days later, on February 11th, Oscar was doing so well that he graduated from inpatient care and returned home with Jennifer. Oscar gained just over 1lb during his treatment and left our program nearly unrecognizable!
Ketchina was 25 months old when she was admitted into our inpatient treatment program for the second time. She and her mama, Jules, come from an area of the capital that has faced extreme insecurity over the past few years, and their family was not spared the repercussions. For the first few months after she graduated, Ketchina did well at home. Still, on January 4th, when she came for a follow-up appointment, our nurse noticed that she was losing weight again and recommended that she be readmitted for a second round of inpatient treatment. When readmitted, Ketchina weighed 18lbs 1oz (she had graduated six months earlier weighing 19lbs 13oz). When Ketchina was readmitted, her mama told our staff that she had a 5-year-old step-brother at home showing signs of malnutrition. Jules’ family brought her brother Pierre Roger the next day at our urging. After being examined by our nurse, it was determined that he had severe marasmus, and he was admitted for treatment alongside Ketchina, with Jules caring for both children.
Ketchina and Pierre Roger spent 38 days in inpatient care, where Pierre Roger gained 7lbs and Ketchina gained 3lbs. We are hopeful that with continued close observation and extra support from our staff this time around, Jules will be able to keep her daughter and brother healthy at home.
11-month-old baby boy, Dory was first admitted to Middle Ground in October of 2021, but because he was so severely ill he was transferred from our care to a local hospital, where he spent 9 weeks fighting life-threatening anemia. During his treatment at the hospital, Dawens underwent a blood transfusion. He was finally strong enough to transfer back into our care on January 21st, 2022, where he was treated with Medika Mamba for 28 days. During that time Dawens gained 3lbs. It was amazing watching the life come back into this precious little boy during his time in our care.
5-month-old Dawens was admitted to our inpatient program on January 10th, 2022 with severe kwashiorkor. His feet and legs were badly swollen and the edema has already begun to travel up his body into his face. He was a very sick little boy. Dawens spent 30 days being treated with F-100 formula. On day 31, he had turned 6 months old and Medika Mamba was added to his treatment protocol. It took a total of 39 days before Dawens was ready to graduate and return home, but when he did he was unrecognizable. His swollen, pale skin was replaced with a beautiful clear complexion and he practically glowed with health. His mama, in her own journey, had transformed right alongside her baby, and the joy in her face on the day that he graduated was an incredible reward for all of our staff who had invested so deeply in this little family.
Our final graduates for the month were a set of brothers, 2.5-year-old Woodley and 4-year-old Bradley. These two sweet boys are the only living children of their mama, Miracia. Maracia had previously lost 3 children to malnutrition/illness and she was very worried about her two sons. Upon admission Woodley weighed 21lbs 5oz and Bradley weighed 30lbs 9oz. Both boys were treated for intestinal parasites before starting Medika Mamba to address their severe malnutrition. It took 30 days for Woodley and Bradley to be strong enough to go home, but when they did they had each gained over 4lbs!
These 10 children are deeply loved and treasured. They are valuable members of their community, and the world. Each of them hold endless potential, and because of your generous support they were given the tools they needed to defeat malnutrition and grow up in the homes of their families.
Thank you for investing in the future of Haiti by investing in our programs.
