Heart Patients [February 2012]

This is a quick update of all of our heart patients who are currently in Santiago, DR to have surgery!

Sophonie [15], Guyito [16], and Rutherchy [9]

SOPHONIE is 15 years old and is one of 9 children. Her youngest sibling is 5 years old, and her oldest is 19. Her mother doesn't have a passport and couldn't get one in time, so she traveled here with a family friend who is signing the papers and has taken on the role of legal guardian for this trips purposes. She has known she has a heart problem for 4 years, and hasn't been to school since she found out. She is quiet and reserved, and beautiful. She doesn't get into playing very much, and does things that most 15 year old Haitian girls do like cook, clean, wash clothes, and keep the house basically. Her surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, and she will be having a valve replacement. The valve is currently being shipping here from America, so please pray with us that it gets here safely and in a timely manner so that she can get this surgery she desperately needs. She's excited to be able to go back to school when she gets better.

GUYITO is 16 years old and less than 5 feet tall. He has known for a while that he needs heart surgery, and he and his mother have actually traveled all the way to Santiago before and they weren't able to do the operation that he needed at the time. His mom is here with him again. He is energetic and very affectionate, and he eats A LOT! His surgery is scheduled for Monday, and he is having an operation on one of his valves as well although it's unclear exactly what they are going to do to it at this time. He has told me every day how excited he is to have his operation, because he wants to grow taller and fatter. His mom is excited because she wants him to be able to go back to school. His mom is by far the most nervous of our guardians, although Guyito himself dances and sings about his operation he is so happy to be getting it.

RUTHERCHY is 9 years old and lives on an island of Haiti with his mother. She couldn't get away, so his uncle traveled with him to Santiago. He hasn't been to school in a few years because of his heart problem. Upon arrival and blood work here, it was discovered that he has sickle cell anemia. After a few days of discussion and debate, the doctors decided that his sickle cell is his main problem, and that he does not need open heart surgery right now. After surgery, he would require medication and followup care which will be hard for him to obtain on the island, and there is always the increased risk for infection and complications. They said that the sickle cell is the problem that is effecting his quality of life, and if we can get that under control he shouldn't need surgery! Praise the Lord! So we sent him and his uncle back to Haiti today where we will get him set up for sickle cell treatment [it's a manageable disease] and then he can go back to his mom, and back to school!

Roosevelt [16]

ROOSEVELT is by far our sickest patient. He traveled here with his uncle and a nurse and they came a few days later than the rest of us because they needed more time to make travel plans. He went straight to the hospital and stayed there 2 nights before he had surgery. The doctors said he is very very sick, and they cannot do a lifesaving surgery... just one that will buy him some time. They waited the 2 days to get him a bit stronger, and today they were able to do the operation. When he went in to the OR, the doctors told us there was a 60% chance he would come out alive, and a 40% chance that he wouldn't. Our God is Mighty, and he is now in recovery and awake asking for water. Praise Jesus! They were able to clear out the vessels of his heart, but they say that even with this operation he most likely only has about 6 months left to live. But we know that our Jesus is bigger than any heart problem, and if Roosevelt is meant to live for longer than 6 months then he will! We are excited to see how God moves.

This is all of the kids here for this trip. We are posting updates here as soon as we get new information. Please follow us on this journey, share it with your friends, and join us in lifting up these kids in prayer daily! We know that these kids need their physical lives saved, but our ultimate goal is for this to be a tiny part of a much bigger picture of how they come to know Christ and live their lives for Him! Goodnight from Santiago!

Oh, and p.s. This is a blog post by one of our staff on the ground with the kids.. a short story of how God is moving in Santiago.