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Saw a patient today from a rural village 4-5 hours by car, 7-8 hours by train. The family came into town yesterday and arrived at the clinic this morning.
She is a 4 month old baby girl. Sweet as can be. This is how her story goes, at least from what mom & dad told me during our brief time together:
When mom was pregnant with the baby, she was told countless times to abort the child. There was something physically wrong with the child. The child will never be accepted, would never be loved, would have many many problems down the road, as they were told...it would be much easier to rid of the child sooner rather than later. "No" was the answer. The parents told me they are followers of Christ and there was no way they could let the baby die. It never crossed their mind as a possibility.
Cleft lip and cleft palate. No neurologic deficits that we know of. Slight malnutrition. Slight gagging, choking, and food coming up into the nasal passages. I was excited though knowing that a foreign team of surgeons come twice a year to do these types of surgeries (for free)...and the next round of surgeries is next month! However, after consulting with one of the docs, the child wouldn't meet the minimum weight requirement of 10 kg...and may have to wait until mid-next year to get the surgery. Mom and dad were very disappointed with the news.
We decided to send them to the largest children's hospital in the city, and potentially help them pay for the surgery there. The hospital told them the palate could be fixed for ~$3,200 USD but the child would have to meet the same 10 kg weight requirement, but the lip could be fixed for ~$1,500 USD now. The parents were torn. They wanted any sign of hope and improvement, and fixing the lip now was an opportunity. However, #1 they had very little money and #2 they didn’t want the child to be subjected to two separate procedures (one now for the lip and one next year for the palate).
Regardless of their decision, continue to pray for this little girl. She needs better nutrition. She is getting drops at a time of breast milk right now. If she gets surgery, she needs His spirit of protection. Her parents need peace and comfort.
Thank you.