A Full Force Week
It has been a hard week here in Kenya. Not necessarily physically hard, but definitely mentally and emotionally. Life tends to come at us full force here...it is either "smooth sailing" or "rough rapids" so to speak. We've had some additions to our home, some leave our home and a few who need to come to our home. We've been put in touch with some pretty severe medical needs, desperate situations and of course Jeff's hospital stay.
It was so good to see his eyes and smile, poor guy was super sick for a few days!
Over 3 weeks ago we had a Grandmother and her tiny grandson show up at our gate. She was seeking porridge because the baby was hungry and she lacked food for him. I wasn't home, but Dottie (our amazing social worker) gave her a package of porridge and took pictures to show me. I shared one of those pictures with y'all. A tiny hand that had been sucked raw because he was starving. That same day we sent him and his grandmother to the hospital where he stayed for almost 3 weeks. We were told he had malnutrition, but was recovering well. During his stay, the grandmother asked if we would take him upon him being released because she was struggling to care for him. We agreed to do that due to the condition we first saw him in. It was clearly a desperate situation and after talking to other staff members who knew of the grandmother and their situation, it was confirmed that this was the best choice for this baby. This past Monday, Levi was released from the hospital and his discharge paperwork told more of his story. Levi is not only malnourished, he has the worst kind of malnourishment, Marasmic Kwashiorkor and he has cerebral palsy. In some ways I was shocked by the cerebral palsy diagnosis and in some ways I wasn't, I had noticed in a few pictures I had been sent of him while he was in the hospital, that he might be dealing with more than malnourishment and that concerned me. Over the last 3 days we have come to realize that Levi likely has a whole host of medical issues and to say that it is overwhelming is an understatement.
Levi and Karson the day he got home.
A week ago we had another case at our gate involving another grandmother with another little boy (Emmanuel) in a very similar situation as Levi. Very malnourished, definitely has cerebral palsy and living with a grandmother who doesn't understand his condition (and understandably so) and can't keep enough food in the house to feed the 7 people (6 children) living there. We visited their home Monday and had to see just how bad his condition was. His and Levi's situation has broken my heart. Emmanuel's situation was and is so bad I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of him to show to my best friend for advice. We sent him and his grandmother to the hospital the next morning. The hospital seemingly dismissed the severity of his malnourishment and wrote up a menu for the grandmother to feed him and discharged him on Wednesday afternoon. I was shocked and even had a conversation with my best friend saying there had to be a standard which would cause him to be kept. Thursday we sent someone to pick up Emmanuel and his grandmother but of course there was a delay. Thankfully this was a good delay and the head Dr ended up explaining that there had been a mix up and that Emmanuel could not go home. I had never been so happy to hear that someone wasn't able to leave the hospital!
These 2 boys are so malnourished. I'm not talking about they skipped a meal or a cup of milk here and there. They skipped many meals, many days in a row. They now have missing muscle and hanging skin on bodies that are WAY too small for their age. They have literally been starving. It is a shocking thing to see when you and your own children have never skipped a meal due to lack of food. It is hard for me to even imagine, yet people in my village are living this out. The time to cook breakfast comes and goes and they don't have food. They ask neighbors if there is any work (digging or weeding the farm) so they can feed the children they care for. The issue is that most of our village is in the same situation so there aren't jobs or extra food to hand out, and babies, children and widows go hungry.
Late night snuggles are the best!
Both boys are currently in the hospital. I have no idea what their future holds, but I do know that we can't turn our backs on them. We can't continue like life like this doesn't happen in our village. We can't and won't allow them to be pushed to the side or disregarded because they are not "normal". They are, after all, made in the image of God. Their lives have value, they are loved and they deserve to be cared for. They deserve for someone to push the Drs to get to the bottom of this and not dismiss them over what it could cost.
Thank you for allowing us to step in. I'm not claiming that we are saving lives, that is God's job, but thank you for giving us options. As hard as some of this is, and seeing malnourished children is incredibly hard, I'm thankful to you for keeping us in prayer and keeping us here. Thank you for your continued prayers. If you would like to help us continue to fight malnourishment and feed children and families you can go to the link below and make a donation.