Last Wednesday I visited the children's hospital with the team that was here. I was difficult to see all the sick children and the lack of medical supplies and resources to help them. It was hard for me because I had a sore throat and a cough and I didn't want to get close to any of the children for fear of adding to their already fragile state. While there Regina was asked by a nurse to visit and abandoned baby. Baby Allie had been abandoned by her mother and brought to the hospital. It was immediately apparent that she was severely malnourished and in very critical condition. Regina held her hand and sang to her and showed her so much love. She stayed for hours and loved on that little girl. We had such hopes and prayed for her healing and rescue from such a desperate situation. I planned to visit her today and check in with her regularly while working towards getting permission to move her to our facility once she was stable. But the sad news came yesterday that she had died during the night.
The pain that the team is facing is great. I am so sad for the thousands of children out there who die from things that are totally preventable. 2 month old babies should not die from starvation; everyday is a struggle here. The cost to feed this child was very small and yet there were no resources available to do it. The nurses at the hospital gave what little money they had from their own pockets to provide some formula for her and watched over her and yet it was not enough. We did what we could, and yet it was to late…
If you have a chance, pray for the team that is back home in America now. That they will know comfort in this loss of a child who instantly captured our hearts!
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