Please Pray

It has been a very trying few days at COTP. For some reason, many of our little ones are getting sick. We had our doctor come yesterday to look at a bunch of the kids because so much is going on. We have had up to 7 kids in the hospital in Milot.
One of our babies, Olivenson, has been especially sick the past few days. We took him to Milot Saturday morning and had to wait for several hours to just be seen. Then yesterday morning he passed away. We believe he was septic and the infection had spread over his whole body. Please pray for his mom as she has also recently lost her 12 year old daughter.

Olivenson

Our volunteers have been going pretty much non-stop with all our sick kids. We have them segregated all over the place for different reasons and hopefully we will be able to get them all healthy very soon. Almost every child has had something this last week or so. Please pray for complete healing for all our babies and for our staff to remain healthy and energized during this trying time.

Meet Eventz and Wedly

Eventz mother recently received word that his father (who was living and working in the DR) has passed away. She has two children older than Eventz and is struggling to care for them, let alone Eventz. He had a high fever and diarrhea when he was admitted and is very small. He has already gained a few ounces in the time he has been with us and his fever has gone away.

Eventz

Wedly appears to be fairly healthy. He had been receiving sugar water, rice, and meat. His mother passed away at the beginning of the month while pregnant with another child. His father is not able to provide a safe environment for Wedly as he has to leave during the day to go into the fields to work and search for food. The person who had been taking care of Wedly since his mother's death is now ill and can no longer watch him. He fears that the Wedly will die if forced to remain in this situation. Wedly has two other school aged siblings.

Wedly

Daniel, Josette, and Olivenson

Daniel 2 months ago

Daniel is a little boy who has been with us for 3 months. His mother was very sick and in the hospital when his grandmother brought him into our care. She needed help while she took care of her daughter in the hospital. His mother is now well enough to care for Daniel and was able to take him home. Pray for Daniel and his mother to adjust to being back together.

Josette at admission

Josette is a tiny preemie who was abandoned at Hopital Sacre' Coure in Milot about a month ago. She stayed there for a few weeks in their neonatal unit until she was strong enough to come here. Josette came last Tuesday and weighed 4 pounds 1 ounce. She is now almost 5 pounds and has been drinking very well. Josette was born on June 5th and had an IV in her head for a while so she has a nice mohawk right now but her hair is starting to grow back in. She is a beautiful little girl.

Olivenson at admission

Olivenson was admitted yesterday. Olivenson was born on January 1st of this year and had been living with his mother and siblings in Gonaives. When Olivenson's 12 year old sister passed away unexpectedly after a seizure in July, Olivenson's family moved to Cap-Haitien. Olivenson's father is from Cap-Haitien so that is why his mother chose to move here, however, Olivenson's father is not working and has been sick recently so he is not able to support his family. Olivenson's family have been staying with his father's cousin but Olivenson's mother needs to find work and find a new place to live. Before we admitted Olivenson, he had been sick for approximatly a week with a high fever (103.5) and he has been having diarrhea since last Friday. Olivenson weighs 14 pounds 1.8 ounces. He hasn't been sucking well and we've had to feed him with a syringe to get him to take in fluids. Olivenson will stay with us for 2 months while his mother looks for work and a new place for his family to live.

Baby Shama

Shama has been in our care for 2.5 months, but has spent the majority of her time at the hospital. She had downs syndrome and a significant heart-defect with a lot of complications that go along with that. Shama's little body could no longer fight and she passed away Monday night at the hospital. On Sunday, Amy (our nurse) heard that Shama had caught another infection and her little body wasn't strong enough to fight it.
Shama's mother is heart broken, she wailed and cried a lot and it was hard to watch as Shama's 9 year old brother tried to comfort his mother telling her that her baby girl was now with their father. Shama's family has gone through so much, losing their dad/husband, moving from PAP after the earthquake (and losing all their possessions) and Shama struggling with her health for so long.
We are thankful that she no longer has to fight and is in heaven now. Please keep Shama's family in your prayers and the nannies who cared for her. Also be praying for our COTP as there have been too many loses lately.

Baby Thania

Our little Thania passed away very unexpectedly last Tuesday night. Thania had been struggling for a while in the baby house and was not drinking very well there or gaining much weight. For the past few weeks she has been staying in the volunteer house with one to one care. She was being seen by a doctor fairly regularly for other health issues. In fact, the doctor looked her over earlier in the day and said she looked good. Once they got home she was very fussy and refused to drink. Thania passed away shortly after in the arms of our nurses. Her mother is also in the hospital and not doing well. Please pray for her and her older brother who is also sick (and being cared for by another Haitian woman in her home).

Meet Guerlande

Guerlande was admitted on Thursday the 22nd of July. She is 10 months old and weighs 12lbs 13oz. Guerlande came here with her mother and a neighbour. Guerlande's mother's house burned down two moths ago and since then Guerlande, her older brother and mother were staying with a family friend. Unfortunately this friend is about to move to another area so Guerlande's mother needs to find a new home where she can stay with her children. The lady who was providing accommodation for Guerlande's family was also helping the family with food which was a huge help to Guerlande's mother as Guerlande's father had passed away 8 months ago. Guerlande's mother had been breast feeding Guerlande but didn't produce enough milk because she sometimes didn't eat enough. She is a very sweet and active little girl; she crawls all over and loves to laugh with the nannies and volunteers. Guerlande will stay with us for 3 months while her mother looks for a new place for the family to live. Please pray for her adjustment away from her mother and for her mother to find a new place to live.

Guerlande with mother

Guerlande day one at COTP

Meet Aska, Frandley, and Sammy

Ashka is a 2 year old little girl who has Cerebral Palsy. She was brought to us by her mother who was referred by a friend who is familiar with COTP. Ashka's father died the begining of July and had been sick for a long time. The mother has had 4 children, all of whom died before reaching the age of one. Ashka had a twin who died at 9 months. We will take care of Ashka and hope this mother does not have to go through losing another child.

Ashka at AdmissionAshka this past weekend

Frandley, was born in April 09. He is very skinny and tall. His dad brought him after the mom left Frandley with him in June. Before his mother left, his father was working in Port au Prince. He cannot care for Frandley and work to support him at the same time. We hope to care for him for 2 months until his father is able to find some help and workFrandley at admission

Samuel (his mother calls him Sammy) is 11 months old. We believe he has a syndrome, possibly Down Syndrome. His mom is living in a village sponsored by Food for the Poor in Cap Haitien. His father died in the eartquake and she has 2 other children living with her. We have agreed to take Sammy for 3 months so his mother can get back on her feet and figure out the best way to care for them all. She really wants to take Sammy back home, but wants us to help figure out what his needs are going to be and how best to keep him healthy.

Sammy at admission