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| Seth. Photo credit: Brooke Sleeper |
We have a little boy named Seth. He is the cutest little
guy, but has been sick from the day his mother dropped him in an outdoor toilet
on January 4th, 2014.
Among other long-term illnesses he has reoccurring ear infections, which
result in his eardrums rupturing followed by puss and blood pouring out. This has happened at least 20 times in his short two years
of life, but they never really heal completely before the next one.
We have treated the infections, taken him to our own
pediatrician and the only reasonable, and simple solution (if we lived in the
US or Canada) is to have tubes put in his ears. This is not a complicated procedure, in fact even Spencer
had them put in when he was a small boy and had lots of ear infections. It does
require surgery, but it’s day surgery and when complete the ears have a way to
drain and not end up bursting and creating scar tissue that can eventually lead
to deafness.
Last year we finally found the ONLY ENT (Ear Nose Throat specialist) in the country to examine
him, but he refused to put tubes in his ears. Why? Because he doesn’t believe in putting in tubes. He says that when the eardrum bursts,
it is “nature’s way of removing the infection” (!!!).
When Brooke’s father was here last month he examined Seth
and said that he believed he was already deaf in one ear, and would certainly
lose the hearing in his other ear if something wasn’t done urgently. He needs surgery, but that BASIC
surgery is not available in our country.
Our only solution is to take him to South Africa for
surgery, but that is a huge challenge.
You see, we have a big problem with child trafficking between South
Africa and Swaziland and getting a passport for one of our children is very
complicated AND then we have to have the correct government paper work to take
him out of the county.
This week was filled with blessings and breakthroughs, and
we found just the right person, who was willing to write just the right letter,
that will allow us to get a passport and take Seth to South Africa within the
next week or two.
Once we realized that this dream was becoming a reality,
Brooke asked if we could take Isaiah too?
Isaiah has had at least 10 ear infections in his short life and he too
has a lot of permanent damage and scar tissue. The good news is that Isaiah already has a passport because
he had to go to South Africa when he was a baby because he was near death and
needed a myriad of specialists.
(As an aside, they all told us that Isaiah wouldn't live, and we should
take him home and put him in hospice.
Today he still struggles with mal-absorption of food, but is doing well
and a very happy boy).
So, in the next two weeks we plan to take Seth and Isaiah to
South Africa for surgery on their ears.
We anticipate tubes and some reconstructive surgery to be required.
Here’s the challenge.
We have a quote from the surgeon to do each child, and including
transportation and two nights hotel rooms for our driver and an Auntie, we are
looking at a whopping $2,300 per
child!
I don’t know what that would cost in the US or Canada, but I
do know that if we lived there we wouldn’t have to leave the country to get the
care that is needed for these two children.
Two days ago I put out a request on Facebook to raise funds
for four washing machines needed for the Children’s Campus. Within two days we
had them all! Today I find myself
asking again, but this time for Seth and Isaiah’s ears, so that they will not
go deaf in the months or years to come.
We need a total of $4,600 and we know that HE will provide
for HIS children. Will you be a
part of HIS solution? If yes,
please give to our Emergency Medical Fund today. Thank you.
Live from Swaziland … I am thankful that I have ears to
hear!
Janine
PS – if you didn’t read last week’s blog, we are looking for
a Nurse or Nurse Practitioner to come and work alongside Brooke. Please pass this along to anyone whom
you know might be interested - http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2016/03/are-you-or-someone-you-know-thinking.html
