It’s December 11th…and all through the hospital…
Christmas is coming in 2 weeks. It’s 12PM, I head towards the Emergency Room to check things out. This is a regular routine for me. I’ve already been through there 4 times this morning. At the entrance, we have 9 chairs to seat the newcomers that we don’t have beds for right away. It’s not ideal, we need about twice as much space as we have in this hospital, but we are working with the resources that we do have.
I glance around, ignoring the crowd all around me and there, in the first chair, I spot Matthew, an 18-month-old that has just come in. Someone has put him on oxygen. I’m drawn to him so make a beeline for him and his mother. Why? He is very thin, lethargic, has sunken eyes and is clearly malnourished. Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). That is what our team is here for. It is a terrible condition that gradually sucks these children into a black hole—eventually leading to the shutting down of organs and, in the end…death.
I do a quick visual and physical assessment, check to see if a chart has been started and get to work. Thankfully he is not in shock yet. The staff are all busy. No one has time to help this child right now. I grab a nursing student that is working nearby, and within 30 minutes Matthew is starting to perk up a bit. His blood sugar had been 44 mg/dl—dangerously low. Hypoglycemia can kill quickly.
I had the privilege of giving him a little dextrose into his mouth through a syringe and some Resomal (a rehydration type of drink specialized for these malnourished children). I’m encouraged as Matthew begins to fight a bit and pull at his oxygen tubing. Most children would have been doing that from the get-go. However, children with SAM often are barely able to cry or move their arms to bat a fly away.
I figure that the baby ma brought him today with only hours to spare. I’m thankful that we have a shot. Matthew can drink and still has the light in his eyes. By this evening, he surely would have slipped into a twilight coma.
Matthew is lucky. You see, Christmas is coming! “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Isaiah 9:6. God Himself came down to intervene in the process that was sucking the world into a black hole of eternity without Him. Sin, like SAM, was squeezing the life out of us. We needed an intervention—a Savior to free us from this death.
In my country, everyone is busy shopping for the perfect gifts, stocking up on food to prepare a grand feast, and baking their hearts out—all in an attempt to memorialize another holiday by carrying out these elaborate traditions and the spreading of Christmas cheer.
But what does Christmas look like for a malnourished child? Liberian baby mas also want to celebrate with the world during this festive season.
I am only able to relay what my Liberian colleagues and friends tell me, but it is common knowledge around the hospital that families will utilize whatever little bits of money they have to prepare for Christmas. This might mean a new dress for a baby ma or taxi fare to see family members. What is not in the budget are hospital expenses. I am told that mothers will go to a local pharmacy and buy various medications or try a home herbal remedy to buy themselves time until after the Christmas season is over. Then, in the new year, when it is all over, they will bring the child to the hospital—often too late. It is unfortunate because our program provides free care for the malnourished kids thanks to generous donors, but many do not understand or simply take the time to come.
This is why Matthew is lucky. His mother made the choice to come now and did not wait until after the holiday season was over. My best guess is that he will make it. As I type this, he is down the hallway on our pediatric ward. He has a fever today but has been able to sit up and drink the milk. For this, I am thankful.
I often wonder what it’d be like to be a fly on the wall and watch the previous 90 days unfold in the lives of our malnourished kids that come and are admitted to our inpatient feeding program. How did they get to this point? Surely their plight cannot simply be attributed to poor parenting or neglect. There is much more to their stories. It is no secret that the poor have fewer choices in life. “Christmas” means having financial resources amongst other things.
Perhaps the personal choice of reflecting on Christmas for these malnourished kids would be a spiritual discipline worth investing in for all of us this holiday season.
Would you consider helping us to meet the ever-increasing needs here in Liberia?
You can give directly towards helping us to save these malnourished children. If you are in the UK, follow the justgiving link below:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-bryant11,
If you are in the USA: by going to www.simusa.org. Click on “give”, the on “give to a project or missionary”. Type in “Sustaining God’s Children-Liberia”. Our project will pop up. I can’t think of a better way to share your resources.