It was Wednesday and she reminded me of Nomsa
(wednesdayswithnomsa.blogspot.com). She was young, very thin, very sick, but
still I could tell she was bright, smart and once had hope for her future. Then a Mozambican man came along and
swept her off her feet, on to her back, and then he was gone.
She was left with a 6-year old son from another man and a
newborn baby, born on September 15, 2014, who is HIV positive. This young mother passed on her positive
HIV/AIDS status to her baby and then discovered that she also had the dreaded
Tuberculosis …often referred to as the “best friend” of HIV/AIDS. Maybe that explained why she was so
sick, and why she couldn’t make milk to feed her baby, and why her baby ended
up at the hospital in the malnutrition ward for FIVE weeks, without her (she
had TB so couldn’t go in the pediatric ward).
This young woman was hopeless and helpless. When the baby was discharged from the
hospital last Tuesday, she was sent home with 5 days worth of Formula, and on
Sunday the Formula ran out. On
Monday and Tuesday the little baby only got water (not clean filtered water)
with a bit of sugar and salt added to it.
By Wednesday the baby was failing and the young mother didn’t know what
to do.
She reached out to her mother through her own shame and
guilt and begged for help. The Grandmother to the baby had nothing to help her
with, so she went to the Social Welfare Office and begged for help. Couldn’t
someone please take this 10-week old baby, who then weighed 5.7 pounds and was
losing weight.
After phone calls were made and reports written I was called
and asked if the El Roi Baby home could help. I said yes, got in the car with PJ Bach and Kristi Crockett
and headed to town.
Our day ended visiting the home of the young mother, where
she had the baby wrapped up and ready to give away. My heart was so heavy. Wouldn’t it be better if the baby could
stay with the mother or Grandmother?
Couldn’t we help this young woman and keep the family together? There
had to be another solution other than the baby being placed at the El Roi Baby
Home.
 |
| I have airbrushed their eyes for privacy purposes. |
And then she said it.
She looked at me in the eyes and said, “Please take my baby”.
Why? Because
she was dying, and hopeless. She
couldn't make enough milk to feed her baby. She only received $50 US/month in
income to support herself and $25 US of that went to pay the rent. She couldn’t care for the baby in her
small room because the baby would likely contract her Tuberculosis and the
Grandmother couldn’t take the child. To make things even worse, this young
woman had no way to get to and from the Pediatric AIDS clinic, and was too weak
to travel anyway, so the baby had not yet started her life-saving HIV/AIDS
treatment.
Tears started to flow down her face and I asked her if she
was sad. She looked straight at
me, wiped the tears and said, “No, I am SO HAPPY. Now my baby will live.”
Another bittersweet day in Swaziland. Baby Megan is now with us and after
several days of throwing up she is now taking high-calorie formula and sleeping
soundly. She will start on her Anit-retrovirals on Tuesday and we will continue
to pray for her health and the health of her mother, older brother and a
country filled with hopelessness.
May they see The Light during this season as we celebrate the birth our
the only real HOPE that any of us have.
Live from Swaziland … sometimes life here is just too real.
Janine
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