Malnutrition Is Ugly

Today was difficult. I had very few expectations in coming here, I was just obeying God and had no idea what I was getting into. However, I did expect to be useful and able to help. Two children died this morning. I sincerely hope none of you ever have to watch a child literally starve to death.

I’ll spare you the details, but the boy had Marasmus, which is the form of malnutrition where they shrivel up instead of the bloated belly, which is Kwashiorkor. He had been unresponsive the last few days we had rounded on him. We couldn’t feed him because there are no NG tubes in the city right now. We even called all the pharmacies and they’re all out. Even if we did have an NG tube, there’s no real tube feeding available.

The second patient was a beautiful little girl who died of severe malaria and probably cerebral edema. I have a half written blog post from yesterday about how sick she was that I will probably post later. Today I went and saw her first, (her bed was at the far end of the ward) and her heart rate had dropped, Cheynes Stokes respirations, and fever of 39 C (102.2 F). I pulled the doctor over, we gave some ibuprofen and some more fluids, which was all we could do. We rounded on a few more patients, keeping an eye on her, and a few minutes later the mom started screaming and the girl had died. Again, none of the staff seemed to care except me and the doctor. Other moms in the ward went to comfort her. The language barrier made me mad, all I could say was “sorry” in Swahili. It was rough because I had actually been building somewhat of a relationship with the mom since we had seen her several times.

The lack of resources made me sad, but as my boyfriend reminded me: “God is who is ultimately in control, whether you have the resources of Johns Hopkins or a third world hospital.”

My loving sister sent me a link from David Platt: What the Gospel Demands.

http://www.radical.net/media/series/view/165/what-the-gospel-demands?filter=series

He talks about children dying, but isn’t vague about it.

The whole day wasn’t bad, there were good bits as well as a stunning sunset over the lake and it was clear enough you could see the mountains on the other coast, 35 miles away.

Pray for the moms: The Lord is close to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

 

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provide

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

-Hillsong