In sickness and in health

No, this post has nothing to do with weddings. It's a story that I don't like to tell, really, but it's ones of the memories that stuck with me most.

June 10, 2004
On Tuesday Martha and I went to the village as usual, but there wasn't really anyone around. Josephine & Rose showed up after a little while - they had been to see some of the women, and said no one was going to show up. J. also mentioned that one woman had a very sick baby, and some of its symptoms sounded like tetanus. So we prayed with the people who were there - the half-naked boy with orangish hair (from protein deficiency) who's always there and is such a friendly kid, one old lady, some of Joyce's kids, and also one of the blind peanut-shellers (a man). And then we went to see this baby.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone as sick as this baby. Its face was pale and it looked utterly worn out.

Martha and Josephine told the baby's mother that she really must take him to the clinic - they would not refuse to help there, even though she had no money. So this woman tied the baby onto her back and we all, Josephin and Rose included, set out.
On the way, Rose and I talked a bit and she told me about her two babies before Tony who died. I really pray this one she's pregnant with now will live. [It didn't, but this year Loduk Robert was born.]

Anyway, we got to the clinic and Sagal David got the baby on an IV. [I wanted really badly to watch him try to save the baby's life, but I had to go sit down before my knees buckled. At the time I thought I was just hot and tired, but now unfortunately i think I couldn't handle watching a needle go into a baby's head.]
It turns out the baby had malaria and had gone untreated for over seven days. He was severly dehydrated from vomiting. This child was literally dying (praise God for Sagal, nurses, and medicine, though), and his mother had no idea what to do - Martha said she's one of those who knows how to dig gardens and grind posho, but she doesn't know how to ask for help when her child is dying of malaria. Thankfully, Josephine is a good neighbor.

June 13
Rose told us today after church that the baby we took to the clinic died. Probably he would have died anyway, but getting moved down the road to Tekora for care didn't help. Martha says it's been a hard decision whether or not to have in-patient care here.

*****
There still isn't in-patient care, as far as I know. Please pray for the clinic, Akisyon A Yesu (Mercy of Jesus?), if you think of it: they treat sometimes more than a 100 patients a day during the rainy season, and it's a struggle to get all the medicine and sometimes even the good staff that they need. Here's also a request that Pastor Albert shared recently:

Another note for prayer. There have been a number of cases of meningitis in recent weeks, with six leading to death. We don't want to contribute to the risk of the village kids, so we are suspending children's ministries for the time being. All the members of the Mission have been vaccinated, but would appreciate the added protection of your prayers.

Elizabeth is the only person I know pretty well who works at the clinic (besides Kris, of course). She went in on a Sunday once to give me a malaria test, which was really a nice thing for her to do. Most of the Wrights and half a dozen other short-time visitors came along to watch - exciting times. But Elizabeth let me look at my own parasites under the microscope, which is somehow cool. Elizabeth really deserves her own post; maybe that will be next.