Meet Samuel and Ezekiel!
These little ones are our two newest preemies that have been around for the last few weeks. They were born at 32 and 29 weeks respectively and have been doing great! Both moms have been very faithful in caring for these little ones as they must stay at the infant’s bedside each day and can’t return home due to breast-feeding. It can be a very long and tiring process that is often discouraging. We try and give the moms small ways of showing them that their little ones are moving towards going home.
Often our premature infants, they struggle with something
called NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis), which is where the gut gets
infected. NEC is somewhat of a
mystery in the neonatology world and new recommendations are coming out all the
time as to how to prevent it. One
way is to make sure that babies get breast-milk. Strangely, although all our babies are receiving
breast-milk, the occurrence of NEC remains a top reason that our preemie babies
don’t make it home. The Lord has
been gracious in keeping our two little ones NEC free so far, so please pray
that this continues!
I am also currently in talks with some helpful people in the
states regarding TPN. This is where our tiniest babies could receive nutrition
through their IV while we slowly advance how much milk they can take each
day. Currently, we just have fluid
with sugar and salt which doesn’t provide the proteins and fats that they need
to grow well. Pray that we might
find a solution that is both accessible and affordable for the Togolese.
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| Update photo on Akou (Ruth), our smallest preemie! |
Please also be in prayer as to how you might be able to help
these families with premature infants.
They often have to stay a month or more in the hospital, which is almost
always beyond their financial means.
We work hard on providing great care while limiting the amounts of labs
and radiology in order to keep cost down, but caring for these little ones takes
a lot of resources! A benevolence
fund exists here at HBB to help families like those of Samuel and Ezekiel pay
for the cost of care without depleting the families of all of their resources. We also accept knitted or crocheted hats for these little ones!
Many of you have also been joining me in prayers regarding a
little girl named Bernadette who was discovered to have a brain tumor. So far the Lord has kept her as
well as possible and we wait to see if her best option for care would be either
in Ghana or in the United States.
We have some awesome people working very hard to pursue all
possibilities to find her the best care in the quickest amount of time. Please continue to pray, as
either option will require a lot of resources, time and energy. I am currently looking into both
options equally and seeking the Lord’s direction in where he would have her
go. A trip to the states
would require that she travel without her parents, and stay with a host family
that will not speak her language.
I know the Lord already has plans in place that will glorify and lift up
the name of Christ. Pray that we
might have peace regarding this truth as with trudge through the seas of
seeking medical care.
Thanks to all of you who continue to partner with me in ministry
through prayer, encouragement, visits, and your continued Love.
