Paula

Clinics have been so busy in the last few weeks with little ones sick with pneumonia. I have no way of knowing for sure but I think it is RSV - a virus which causes severe illness in children under a year or children whose immune systems are compromised. Since it is a virus, antibiotics
do not work. Two Tuesdays ago in Chiminisijuan, we had 11 children from the same village who all had pneumonia and were so sick. We always ask mom's to take their little ones into the hospital knowing that, especially there, that they probably won't go. So we give them oral medications and pray for them and send them on their way. Rarely do we know what happens to them.


This Tuesday was no different. As Armando and Bob were praying with the people, I noticed a little girl who was breathing about 60 times a minute and appeared to not have enough strength to hold her head up. We brought her in right away and put on the oximeter (a little machine which reads out the oxygen level). Paula was reading in the 60's (normal is above 90). We asked her mom if we could take her into the hospital - but she would not go. Her husband died 7 months ago and Paula was the youngest of 6 other children. There was no one to care for the other children. I cannot explain the sense of helplessness that we felt as we watched this little one struggle to breathe. Kim (a visiting nurse practitioner) and I agreed that we would try to get some IV fluids going and give her the strongest antibiotic that I have through her veins. And we all started praying and didn't stop until she left. She was so weak that she didn't even cry when we started her IV. Over the course of about 2 hours, her oxygen levels gradually dropped down into the 40's. Kim and I agreed that it would be better for her to die at home than in the clinic. We gave mom a bag of food and drove her as far as we could with the 4-wheeler and said good-bye. Under normal conditions, there is no way that she should have lived. But today Tomas called with the good...no, amazing...news that she was "doing well"!!! Now we pray that her mother - who is not a believer - will understand what a miracle God has done!


I will sing about the LORD's faithful love forever;
With my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
For I will declare, "Faithful love is built up forever;
You establish Your faithfulness in the heavens." Psalm 89:1,2