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| Happy 4th birthday Deborah |
On February 7th, Deborah turned 4-years old. She is a miracle, just like the other 148 children who call Project Canaan home.
As I am at the tail end of two week whirlwind trip to the US and Canada I thought I would cheat a little on my blog today and re-post Deborah's story from February 2013. Here is what I wrote:
On Monday night I arrived home from possibly the worst day
of my life.
I had to sit and write to help me breathe. I sent it to a few dear friends and
family members who are supporters of the babies at El Roi, and me
personally. I
struggled a lot as to whether I should publish this. I am paranoid
about it sounding sensational (because it is a story from hell) and I
don't want to post photos, but believe that people should see what is
really happening here. Maybe then you will help (if you don't
already). After today, I believe that I am supposed to publish this. I hope
I don’t get in trouble for telling this story. Please share it if you think you should. Please DO SOMETHING to help if you get to the end. Here is what I wrote last night…
I just got home after a very long hard day, showered and am now
seeking comfort from Donnie McClurkin worship music and my yellow chair.
When my brain and heart are on the edge
of exploding I must write.
It is
like oxygen to my soul so that I can breathe again and nothing is forgotten.
When I am finished writing the tears will have soaked my tshirt and emptied my
soul.
Here is what happened today.
At 10AM I got a call from the Child Protection unit of the
Police saying a newborn baby had just been found in the bush in our area
(Sidvokodvo). The police were
taking the baby to hospital as she was in bad condition. They thought she had
been born just yesterday and was found today alive. I got in the car, picked up Jamie Klee and headed to the
hospital. Halfway there my car
broke down (again). We waited 45 minutes before Ian could come to the rescue,
switch vehicles and continued on to meet the police. I am going to start praying harder for the Lord to provide a
good vehicle for me to use.
I know you will look at this photo and not want to continue, but seriously, this is really a little baby. Please keep reading.
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| Jesus help us. |
When we got to the hospital we quite accidently bumped in to
the doctor whom I often write about (but never name for privacy reasons). He was so surprised to see me because
he was just about to call me about an abandoned child. He had just examined the baby and was
waiting for her to come to be washed and cared for. He allowed us to go in to the tiny room where they
washed her and take photos to show what condition she was in. She has many bug/insect bites all over
her body, there is a bone misplaced in her leg (will check for fracture when
she is stable), her face and backside are in very bad condition (maybe burned?)
and raw and she had maggots crawling out of her eyes and ears. Lots of them. She is premature and weighs 1.8 KG (4.1 pounds), but she is
a fighter.
They had to wash/scrub her twice then finally went and got
disinfectant to bathe her in to try to kill the bugs. She screamed as the liquid hit her open skin. We stood and
prayed.
She was then put on a sheet under a “warmer” and the nurse
left to get dressing for her wounds.
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| Maggots filled her mouth, eyes and ears. These were digging a hole behind her little ear. |
As Jamie and I stood in this small washing room, we suddenly
realized we were in the NICU room. There were three other babies there on oxygen
and monitors. I looked at the
little boy beside our baby and it didn’t look like he was breathing. I said that to Jamie and went and put
my hand on his tiny chest. I
didn’t feel anthing, but I am not in any way a medical professional. The nurse walked in just then and I
mentioned that the baby didn’t seem to be breathing. She left and got the
doctor who was right outside the door.
He came in and immediately started CPR, as we stood and watched and
prayed. After 10-15 minutes of
CPR, listening, oxygen, and other emergency things I can’t think of the name of
right now (which seemed like a flash and an eternity all at once) he shook his
head. The child had turned
color. He was dead. Just like that. Gone.
We believe and are hopeful that our baby, now named Deborah
because she is a fighter, will live.
I will be there every day this week to help with her
care while the mother of the baby boy will mourn the loss of her beautiful
child.
After a time Jamie and I left the hospital in tears, and
headed home. I couldn’t just go
home with the vision of that baby boy in my mind so suggested that we stop at
the police station to find out if they knew anything more about Deborah’s
situation.
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| This is where the plastic bag with baby Deborah was found. |
The police were very kind and agreed to take us to the place
she had been dumped. Deborah was a
newborn (umbilical cord still attached) and was put in a black plastic grocery
bag. The police said that the top
was tied in a knot and she was left in the bushes under a tree in the middle of
nowhere. This morning a local man
was walking by and heard what sounded like crying. After listening closer he moved closer to the sound. When he saw the bag moved he was terrified
and thought it was a snake so ran to a local store for help. He and the
store-keeper came back to investigate the strange bag and found the baby. She was somehow half in and half out of
the bag, face down in the dirt and crying to save her life – literally.
We went and met the man who found her – the hero of the
day. He said her mouth and ears
were full of maggots and it was terrible. He shook his head when he spoke of
what he saw. I gathered together
all that I had left in me and shook his hand, thanking him for saving the life
of a chosen child – a child who was seen by El Roi himself.
I am tired, confused and emotionally finished. I don’t know why the Lord had us sit on
the side of the road today for 45 minutes, only to be in the room to see a baby
die. I don’t know why he allowed
baby Deborah to live for two days (they think) in a black plastic bag under a
bush – not eaten by dogs or snakes, and then He allowed a baby boy to die in a
hospital NICU care center.
But my faith is in Him and always shall me. He is El Roi, the God who Sees and I
will cling to that today and in the days ahead.
Janine
Sorry for the long blog, but this is a Tuesday update, which
has prompted a mid-week blog.
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| Baby Deborah on Tuesday. So much better. |
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| Don't mind the guy replacing the entire light FIXTURE over the NICU babies. |
Monday night around midnight I got a text from a young woman
saying she was cutting her wrists to commit suicide.
A bad text.
I
called her and tried to encourage her and change her plans. She hung up the
phone and it was early morning before I could contact anyone to find her.
By 10 AM we drove and found the young
woman. She was lying on the ground in a local homestead and had overdosed on a
drug we couldn’t find.
We took her
to the hospital (sadly there is no 911 to call, no ambulance and the social
workers of the country don’t have transportation) and got her in to the
emergency room.
From there I
literally walked to the Neonatal unit of the hospital and spent an hour with
baby Deborah who is doing MIRACULOUSLY well!
The nurses can’t believe the change in her!
She is off the oxygen.
She is breathing well on her own and
the swelling has gone down so much.
The nurses say, “This one will live!”.
I spent an hour with her and fed her a bit, but she was
tired and slept for most of the time while I told her about what a fighter the
Prophetess Deborah was.
From there I checked in the Emergency Room again, stomach
pumping still in force, then on to the TB hospital to see the mother of our
twins Leah and Rachel.
This is a mid-week blog to bring those of you who really
care and want to read it.
I really
pray that EVERYONE taking the time to read this mid-week post will take the
time to give monthly so that we can feed and care for these babies. Even $10 a
month can help.
If you can give
$100, or $1,000 that would help too. As Nike says, JUST DO IT.
www.heartforafrica.org www.heartforafrica.ca
Thanks.
Janine
