Yole Christy Is Going Strong

Yole Christy was one of the three children who flew to the US with me last week. She is the little one you will remember with the beautiful braids, sweet face and loving Papa. She needed a heart surgery for a VSD and we are so thankful that Hershey Medical Center in PA offered to do this procedure for her. She is living with a wonderful host family that is taking great care of her and from the pictures, she looks like she is really enjoying herself. Although she had a rough few days after the surgery, she is now doing really well and will hopefully be ready to return home to her father very soon.

These two photos show how much can be accomplished when so many people come together to show God's love for these children.

In Feb., before surgery

Christy this week, post-surgery

Word of Mouth

Communication in Haiti is always interesting. Although everyone and their brother seem to have these cheap cell phones put out by Digicel, it is actually incredibly hard to find people. There is little structure with which to keep track of dates and times and central meeting places can be difficult to locate. All this is leading up to my discovery that "word of mouth" is by far the best advertising tool and means with which to let people know you are in town. I was not expecting to see many new families while I was in Port for only a few days, but on Monday morning, the day before I left, we had over ten new families arrive to ask for help. I have to admit that it was overwhelming at times, especially when there are children whom we cannot help or that it may be too late for us to help. However, there are always a few that pull at your heart and others that I pray we can find medical care for here in the US. This time was no exception.

There are two children that I would like you to remember in your prayers right now. The first is a two year old little boy named Elie and he has a problem with his intestines. He was born with an imperforate anus and they have done three surgeries in Haiti, including giving him a colostemy. Unfortunately, these operations do not always work and I am afraid that Elie is very sick. It is difficult for us to find care here in the US for this condition, but we are trying. The second is a young many named Charles. He has an infection in the bone in his leg and his need for care is immediate. I asked his mother if she had taken him to a doctor and she told us no, not this time. It turns out that Charles had this same infection 11 years ago when he cut his knee as a youngster. Not at 15 yrs old, the infection seems to have come out again. In fact, his leg has not grown as it should have due to this dormant infection. We are hoping they will get his medical records to us and some x-rays of his leg so that we can try and find him some help as well. Until the time when we can offer help, please help us by lifting these two boys up in prayer and ask God to do what he can for them where they are.

Chedner is sick again and I am not able to write for long periods of time. I will post again soon when I have more information on Nelson, Christy or Angelo and will also try and tell a few more of the stories of the children I met last week.

Blessings, Fran

Angelo

It has been a long, hectic and emotional two weeks for me. I have been to Haiti and back, bringing three seriously ill children with me on my return. Two have had surgery thus far and we are hoping the third will have surgery soon. The sickest of the three is and remains Angelo. This little six year old boy had a brain tumor removed on Monday. He is still critical, but there are have been improvements today. He needs many prayers as he has a long road ahead of him. Please keep him and the wonderful family caring for him in Toledo in your prayers.

I will post more about my trip to Haiti soon. I was amazed by all the God does in Haiti and how he shows his presence each and every day.

Thanks to all our supporters and those who are helping our mission to bring more children from Haiti to receive the medical care they so desperately need!

Pretty Sky

Sky Pics

Hope you can see past the glue and scabs to how beautiful this repair is! I'm amazed.

Little Stinker

Well... We went to the doctor and he took out the nasty little stints in Sky's nose, but asked that we keep the bar on (Logan's bow). I guess Sky went for a second opinion when I wasn't looking cause I found her tonight having shaken off one of her arm bands and having pulled the bar right off! The doctor did say if it fell off it was no big deal. Anyway, I took it as a great opportunity to take some pics of her and show off how gorgeous she is! Guess, I have to watch this little stinker 24/7 (:

Sky post-op

I am seriously sleep deprived and have to get to bed, but wanted to let you all know that Sky is doing well. Her surgery went perfectly and although she has a bunch of contraptions on her face and is in a fair amount of pain she is managing to be quite sweet. And just to prove how much she loves Gabriel - she hadn't smiled since her surgery on Wednesday morning, but when we walked in the door this afternoon and they saw each other she grinned! Her little mouth is pretty tight and swollen, but it was definitely a grin and I could see it in her eyes(: So precious! There is also a pic of the wonderful, awesome, amazing nurse who took care of us - Kelly we love you! Everyone at VA BAptist Hospital was so sweet and helpful. Dr. Germain had to run out this afternoon so I didn't get his picture with Sky, but I will get one tomorrow so you can see the man with the magic hands (: OK, off to bed. Thanks for your prayers - they were felt and Sky couldn't have recovered much faster!

Sky's big day

Please remember to pray for Skyline tomorrow. Her surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. Also pray she recovers well and eats soon after so that I can get home to the other four! I'll post a picture of her after surgery as soon as I can.

Achemine is doing better!

Quick post just to tell you that Achemine is doing better and should be out of the hospital soon! She is going to a host home with some other little ones and we know they will have her smiling in no time.

Achemine's Surgery

Hey Everyone,

Little Achemine had her shunt surgery last Thursday morning. It was a long surgery and she had a few troubles. There was a great deal of fluid surrounding her brain and when they drained the fluid, it left a gap between her tender brain and her skull. As you can imagine, there is not suppose to be a gap, but it took time to get air back in there to provide the needed cushion. Achemine was in ICU for about 5 days and was moved today into a regular room. She cannot be released quite yet as they are trying to figure out what is causing her to run a fever. A fever this long after surgery is not a good thing, so please be in prayer that the doctors are able to figure out quickly what is making her body react in this way. For now, Achemine is drinking her bottles fine and seems to be happy and content. We will keep you updated as she progressses.

I've included a picture of Achemine shortly after surgery. She is such a beautiful baby and Vanessa says that you can see a difference in her face already now that all the excess fluid has been removed.