Couldn't sleep thinking about these kids (Graphic Images Below)

Yesterday we spent the day caring for some children at Mulago Hospital.  We had gone to visit Baby Peter who is still in Pediatric Intensive Care. 

3 year old baby Wilson

I was assaulted by images of dozens of children dying of AIDS, Sickle Cell Anemia, Tuberculosis, Malaria and malnourishment.  Everytime I go there I cry my heart out.  So many of these babies are in severe pain. I don't understand it.  I don't know how this world can be so cruel.  I especially don't know how these mothers endure the pain of watching their children die.

Baby Wilson is 3 years old and has AIDS, Tuberculosis, Herpes (contracted at birth) as well as being malnourished.  He is barely 12 pounds.  The wounds on his mouth are so severe that he can't eat.  They are feeding him through a tube hoping they can get the AIDS virus under control so that they can heal his other issues.  So far he has been in the hospital a month and I have not seen any improvement in all the time I have been there.  His mother is expected to care for him around the clock and sleeps on a cement slab beneath his crib.  He doesn't cry.  He doesn't open his eyes.  I keep praying for him and giving his mother financial support so that she can eat and keep her strength up.  Yesterday I saw his grandmother there as well.  She was putting gel on his lips and she looked up at me with such deep sorrow I burst into tears.  Why God?  Why must this little boy suffer?

There was a little girl being held by a nurses attendant and he looked exhausted.  He kept trying to stand her up but she kept collapsing because she was too weak.  She cried and sobbed and my maternal instincts kicked in. I picked her up and she melted into me.  I asked the man her name and he said, "Abadoned".  That was her name!  This approximately 4 year old girl had no name... none.  Someone had dropped her skeletal frame off in front of the clinic with a scorching fever.  She has no one in the world.  She has healed burns on her hands and head as well.  Only God knows what this girl has experienced in life.  It is locked away in her brain and she can't communicate the truth to anyone because she has no voice.  My heart is hurting just writing these words.

Nakalima, a mother who has been in the hospital 4 months with her daughter Iesha has taken to caring for this abandoned little girl.  She started calling her Esther.

Esther won't look anyone in the eyes.  She sees through people.  The trauma of her life is so severe that she refuses to connect to you in that way.  Her little body is refusing to be disappointed by watching someone else leave her.  There is so much sadness in her that I cried putting her down.  It is a tragedy and I was only able to leave her knowing that Nakalima is watching over her some.

But Nakalima has her own pain too.  Her daughter Iesha is 10 years old and is barely breathing.  She has Sickle Cell Anemia and AIDS.  She pants like a dog.  I am crying all over again thinking about her.  Iesha is not able to speak or walk.  She is only turned over 3 times a day and has bed sores all over her hips and back.  It hurts her to be moved. 

Iesha is on the small size of a 2 year old.  Her forward is dotted in sweat because her body is fighting so hard to stay alive.  I prayed for her and sang a little song. She looked in my eyes and I swear I could see an angel looking back at me. 

I can see that Nakalima is sick too.  AIDS is gripping her body while she cares for an orphan and her dying daughter.  I don't know how she survives.  We gave her some financial assistance as well.  She was so grateful that she smiled... but somehow her face looked unnatural smiling.  I think this woman has been through hell.

The highlight of my day was seeing Baby Peter.  He has gained weight (almost 2 whole pounds) and has been off oxygen for a whole week.  I cried tears of joy looking at his stomach.  I could hardly see his ribs anymore!  He has come a long way from the little sick baby we started treating.

Baby Peter smiles now.  He is starting to gain a little strength.  I was so relieved.  But there was some bad news that came to us when the doctor visited.  He said Peter's oxygen level had dropped significantly.  It seems that Baby Peter's body has built up an immunity to the 4 antibiotics he has been on to kill the Tuberculosis.  They put him back on oxygen and are switching up his meds to fight the disease harder.  Please pray for his body to continue to fight.  His mother Ruth is exhausted and we continue to support her as an organization.  Thank you to the donor who stepped up to sponsor this family! 

The other great news I had was seeing Erin.  A few weeks ago I prayed over her.  She was so ill and was being fed through a feeding tube for 3 months.  I prayed for her and honestly I have been wondering if she leave the hospital alive.  I saw her and her father and I am THRILLED to say God did heal her and she sang and danced for me.  She was so happy and normal!  I know she still needs to gain weight but what a blessing to see that she has survived. 

I ask you to pray for the children and mothers in Mulago Hospital.  I ask you to pray for the doctors and nurses who are often discouraged when they see these children pass away.  I ask you to pray for our protection against these disease as we are God's hands on them.  Above all, I ask for you to appreciate the health of your child and the opportunity to have medication to treat them.  In the words of Betty the nurse I met yesterday, "We try to thank God even when he gives or takes away".  I want to trust in a sovereign God who cares for these little ones.  But I have to tell you... I still don't understanding why God allows the suffering of innocent children.  But what I can say is that he sent me here, all the way from America to care for them.  He must love them very much.