Friends and family,
I have been very busy since my return from vacation, no time to write, but for me it is important to share the lives of the people we serve.
At the moment we have a two week old infant, clinging to life. As I am writing this, he is entering the operating room for the second time in a week. His name is Vilatoriano, an unusual name in the Mayan culture. This infant was born in the National Hospital. Most babies have midwives and deliver in the community, usually not in the best of conditions. They go to a hospital only with complication or emergency. Vilatorio´s birth was apparently normal, but he had an intestinal obstruction. The parents were afraid to send him to the city at birth as recommended by the Pediatrician. Instead they took him home in their arms. Nine days after birth they arrived at the clinic; he had begun to vomit stool and the little breast milk he was receiving. His little abdomen was distended. We rushed him back to the hospital.
That same evening, he was operated by a qualified Pediatric surgeon, in the same National Hospital where he was born. Ordinarily these cases would be sent to Guatemala City where there are more seasoned specialists, and equipment. The largest government Hospital in the city, THE ROOSEVELT, is again on strike. The first surgery has failed. There is not adequate diagnostic equipment available in this national hospital and they are not really sure of the origin of the obstruction. Please say a prayer for this infant and for his parents for a successful outcome of the second surgery. His mother has found another infant in the community to breast feed. This is important so her milk does not dry and common in the Mayan culture.
Thank You for your support that makes our service possible with the most poor in Guatemala.
Send a donation for the Clinica Maxeña at:
www.diocesehelena.org
Love, Sheila
