It has been a long time since we have posted anything on this blog. We are sorry for not keeping it updated enough, but will try to do better. Its been pretty busy in Haiti since the earthquake. We have had roughly 39 children join their families in the US and Canada since the earthquake. That brought our numbers down quite a bit in a very short while, but we have been slowly filling those spots back up. We have received 23 new little ones since the earthquake and 3 of those just in the last few days. Below is an email from one of our directors in Haiti (Maria) and the little stories about our newest arrivals.
>>begining>>Last week was a busy baby week. Dalenka's aunt brought her back here on Monday (6/7) (she went home only a few days before). Dalenka's mother had wanted Dalenka back but is mentally unstable and can not provide the care she needs. Dalenka's aunt said that her mother had given her away to someone who sells food, had tried to hurt her and had been drinking the baby formula we had sent home for Dalenka. It is not safe for Dalenka to stay at home so her aunt brought her back here. Dalenka weighed 12 pounds 8 ounces when we readmitted her.
On Tuesday (6/8) Kenlove came with his mother. Kenlove was born on October 2nd 2009 so he is 8 months old but only weighs 10 pounds 2.2 ounces. His family is from PAP but one week after the earthquake Kenlove and his mother moved to Cap and have been staying with a friend here. Kenlove's father died in the earthquake and his mother has been struggling to care for him here. Kenlove had been eating rice and beans, labouil and drinking some milk but for the past month has not wanted to breast feed. He didn't have a strong sucking reflex when he came here but after a few days he started to cry for food and is now drinking from a bottle instead of being syringe fed. Kenlove's mother would like to take him home in 3 months when he is healthier and stronger. She hopes to be able to find work while Kenlove is with us so that she can support him better when he goes home.
Wednesday (6/9) was another busy day here; mostly for Amy. We are all so thankful that she is here, Amy is a wonderful nurse and is providing great care for our kids. On Wednesday, though, Nickensly got sick. He had been running a low grade fever for a few days but on Wednesday it went up to 103 and he didn't want to eat or drink. Amy took Nickensly back to Milot so they could run labs on him and try to figure out what is causing the high fever. Nickensly was admitted there on Wednesday and his nannies have said that he has been still having high fevers but he has started to eat again.
On Thursday (6/10) we got another little baby, Andre, who was born on March 14th 2010. Andre's mother died when he was 7 days old and since then he has been cared for by an aunt and uncle. They do not know if his mother was sick during her pregnancy or why she died after her baby was born. Andre only weighs 5 pounds 0.5 ounces. He had a high temp of 103.7 and his oxygen stats were awful when he was admitted ranging between 52 and 74%. Amy put him on oxygen here for a while but because he also had such a high fever she took him to Milot too and he was admitted there. Andre's aunt and uncle said Andre started to loose weight about 2 weeks ago because he had diarrhea, they took him to a doctor but he did not get better and his breathing started to get worse so when they heard about COTP they brought him here.
Then on Friday (6/11) we got another baby! Ernante who we've been calling Nathalie because we're having a hard time pronouncing her Haitian name. Nathalie was born on December 24th 2008 and is 18 months old but only weighs 14 pounds 2 ounces. Nathalie came with her grandmother and a neighbour. Nathalie's mother has been sick in the hospital, her grandmother does not know what illness she has, but since her mother has been sick Nathalie has been staying with her grandmother. Her grandmother is elderly and doesn't really have the ability to care for Nathalie so she brought her here. Nathalie can sit up but isn't strong enough to crawl or walk yet, she does roll over but isn't talking. Hopefully she'll gain well here and will be strong and active soon.
I was able to go to Milot today with Amy to check on the kids. Daniella (our tiny preemie) looks ok, Amy said she looks a little better since the last time Amy saw her, She still has an IV in and is being fed with an NG tube. Shama looks good, she's not on oxygen anymore and will be getting an x-ray tomorrow. The doctor said Andre also has a heart problem, he is on oxygen but the nannies said he's drinking well. Nickensly didn't look great, he was sleeping the whole time we were there and has been sleeping a lot recently his nanny said, he is starting to eat again but does have bad diarrhea.<
Please continue to pray for COTP and the babies in our care. We are seeing a lot more tiny babies come to us and filling our rooms than before (as so many had grown into toddlers as they waited for their adoptions to finish). Photos will come as we get the chance.
COTP staff
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