A special someone

It has been far too long since I have blogged but following up an amazing blog like the last one is hard work J Not to say that the last few weeks have not been great, as they always are, however sometimes it just takes a certain *something* to spark the flame that becomes a new and powerful blog. 

This week I wanted to introduce you to a young girl named Widline who came to us at 8mo ready to deliver her first child. She is a young teenage mother with no family to support her as we found out after the delivery. She stayed a few days to nurse her 1.4kg baby who we hoped would survive as we understand the chances of this are not great given the odds a baby of this size has to face. 10 days after giving birth she arrived here to inquire about why her baby was sleeping so much and not feeding, in fact the last time the baby fed well was right after birth. Marie and the other volunteers worked hard with her to get the baby breast feeding and introducing new ways to get a baby that small to get the milk in. It was very inspirational to watch all the love and energy that poured out from all the midwives and volunteers. We also had a group from Hands up for Haiti come and a wonderful OB/GYN named Dr. Malley who happened to be here when Widline came for an appt. She worked all afternoon with her on getting the baby to breastfeed and was exactly what Widline needed at that moment, a mentor or simply someone to care about her. At this time the baby had not even been named yet and so Dr. Malley and Marie helped her to think of names of people she loved or those who cared about her. She came up with Wideline as she said she had no family and no one who cared about her. This was one of the saddest things I have experienced here. Subsequently the story of her pregnancy came out and she stated the conception of Wideline had not been mutual or intended which made sense as to why she seemed so indifferent towards the baby…not to mention it is hard to bond with a baby who is saving all of it’s energy to survive so she was not very receptive or awake to outside stimulation. 

Dr. Malley formed quite a bond with Widline and offered her the Saint Christopher necklace she was given before this trip with the instructions that she should use it as protection for herself and her baby. Again, this energy and love shown to this young mother was truly amazing…Dr. Malley was asked to me the godmother which she accepted graciously and since then I have been sending her pictures and stories of Widline who comes by every 3-4 days. She was here two nights ago for a check up and also asked Marie if there was any way she could stay the night as she has no access to food elsewhere and she feels safe here. We told her she could come and stay a few nights anytime she needs, this young mother and her baby have defied all odds and though the baby is not out of the woods yet, she continues to grow stronger and healthier and yesterday appeared to finally get her suckling reflex to work properly and she breastfed like a champ! No more dribbling bits of milk into her mouth, no more hoping we can get enough nutrition into her, this baby is going to make it-I feel more certain of this every time she comes! I am so happy to have the chance to meet such an amazing young mother and her child and I am sure her story has impacted the lives of all who had a chance to meet her. We work towards making sure she has enough food to eat as it is scarce and possibly a new pair of shoes as her old ones are about 3 sizes too small. She is an inspiration and I am glad I have a few more months to get to know her.