Haiti Children's Home and Grandma Pat's Babies

Happy Birthday at HCH

2011-08-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2011 was homecoming day for the Ulysse family(Melinda and her husband) and I (Grandma Pat). It is nice to be settling back in at home again and learning the new routines. The children were all very happy to see our family arrive and we were delighted to see them again as well.

Today we had a birthday party for the children who have birthdays in July and August. There were 6 children to celebrate. Today also celebrates 23 years since HCH received the first child. I would love to know how many children have come and gone through our doors since then but so many are short stays and are never recorded in our records. It is such a privilege to be part of this and to see all the people that God has brought to join our team. Currently we have 5 volunteers with us who are such a blessing.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us with prayers and financial support over the years. A special thank you to Tracy Snyder who is responsible for collecting most of the gifts that the children received today and to our team of cake decorators: Melissa, Liz, John and Andrew.

The Doctor has arrived!

2010-11-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of those who have helped us pray during the cholera epidemic. The doctor has arrived in Haiti and is on his way to the orphanage. We will continue to keep you updated.

Staff still needed

2010-11-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

The doctor and one or two other men will arrive in Haiti tomorrow. We still need to schedule helpers for basic child care and medical or nursing staff for after they leave.

We are also in need of funding to help cover the extra costs associated with isolation, caring for the children and medication etc. We also have people who are willing to go if we can help them with travel expenses. If you can help in this way, please see our website at http://www.haitichildrenshome.com/ for information on how to donate funds.

HCH Cholera update

2010-11-14T19:37:00.001-08:00

We are getting a doctor!!! And some extra hands! This is in addition to the nurse who was loaned to HCH by another organization over the weekend. The nurse will be at HCH until Tuesday. We praise God as this is a huge answer to prayer. Thank you to everyone who has been helping us look for help. We will need more helpers over the next several weeks so please feel free to contact us if you would like to help.

We are now up to 7 children with symptoms of cholera (adoptive parents will be contacted personally if their children become ill). There seems to a new patient to our little 'cholera' unit every few hours; so far only one has had to be on IV fluid. We pray that God will continue to allow their symptoms to be moderate and not severe like Evan was at first.

Please continue to hold Shae and Melissa up in prayer; they are very weary and exhausted. They have only had 4 hours of sleep since Friday when all of this started. They have been so busy that in addition to sleep deprivation they have also lacked in nutrition as they haven't had time to stop and eat much. Please help us pray that God will put a hedge of protection about them.

Please continue to help us pray for the people of Haiti; those in Haiti who are ill or could become ill and those living in the deplorable conditions left by the earthquake. Please also remember the Haitian people (and missionaries) living in other countries who are experiencing great anxiety and grief over their families.

If you would like to help, items can be dropped off to Lori West for the team to take with them. Please contact Lori West on facebook or at sorrylori@hotmail.com for more information. If you would like to donate funds to help with medication and other expenses related to this crisis, please see the website www.haitichildrenshome.com for more information on how to donate.

It is cholera...back to the hospital we go

2010-11-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

Evan had to return to the hospital around 9:30 this evening, He developed vomiting again and the diarrhea continues regularly in large quantities. He does have cholera and is being treated.

We do have a couple of possible leads on nurses. Please help us pray that we will get a nurse.

Evan

2010-11-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Our little Evan at the hospital. The results are not back confirming whether he has cholera or not but the symptoms are all there. Please keep our little guy in your prayers.

Please pray for protection and health for Shae, Melissa and Sadrack as they take turns sitting at his bedside today and through the night.

5:15PM- The hospital has just released Evan. He is being quarantined at HCH for the next 5 days. Shae and Melissa will continue to care for him and stay with him unti he is completely well and no longer has to be quarantined.

Cholera on the rise in Haiti

2010-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

We are still in need of someone who can start IV's. Cholera is spreading rapidly once again. It has now reached Port-au-Prince and several other regions that did not have it previously. It is on the rise again in our village as well. Shae just reported that people are arriving every few minutes to be admitted to the cholera unit.

We currently have Evan admitted to the hospital for IV therapy. He is being tested for cholera as he has severe diarrhea and vomiting; he was so dehydrated when he arrived at the hospital this morning that the staff had a lot difficulty getting an IV needle in him. He is stable and Shae and Melissa are with him.

Levi was also taken to the hospital this morning with symptoms but the doctors said he does not have cholera so he was treated and sent home.

Please keep us in your prayers and if you can start IV's and would like to help please let us know.

Sweet pictures

2010-11-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Shae cuddling and loving in the midst of it all. We thank God for them.

2010-11-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Another day at HCH...and now...we evacuate for the hurricane

2010-11-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

As of last night all of the children and staff from HCH were evacuated to a local church. Shae and Melissa worked very hard along with the staff to get everything packed and get the children moved. Although the accomodations are a bit crowded it is reassuring to all that that the children have safer housing on higher ground and the water on the church compound is safe. Everyone involved was very exhausted by the end of the day but very relieved to have the job done.

Adoptions are still processing

2010-10-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

It was brought to my attention that I did not mention how adoptions were being effected by the isolation of the HCH compound. I wanted to clarify for those of you processing adoptions through HCH that your files are still moving despite the precautions being taken on the compound. Director Mathieu is not participating in the reverse isolation. He is on the outside and still processing paperwork.

-Melinda

Ulysse family and Grandma Pat to start deputation services

2010-10-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Massenat and Melinda Ulysse and their children along with Grandma Pat and Amanda plan to start holding meetings to raise support for their return to Haiti. If you would like to schedule a meeting for yourself or your church, please contact Melinda Ulysse by phone at 352-307-2449 or 772-209-2527 or by e-mail at hchkids@yahoo.com for more information.

Please pray for us as we start to book our calendar. We need to raise our personal monthly support as well as funds for our return. We plan to return as soon as we are able.

Reverse Isolation

2010-10-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

We were successful in isolating the orphanage over the weekend. Several of our staff graciously agreed to stay around the clock in a lock down situation for at least a month and longer if needed. We had to hire some temporary staff as not enough of our employees were able to stay to make a full staff on-site with the children; we are grateful to all those who helped make the reverse isolation happen.

It took about 24 hours to actually get the compound ready, find the staff and get enough supplies to make it all happen but everyone worked together and made it happen. Lunto went to get bulk supplies on Friday, Mathieu went to employees homes, made phone calls and then arranged a meeting with those in place for the isolation. On Saturday, Shae and Melissa went to Port-au-Prince for one last grocery shopping trip to buy food, extra water jugs, air mattresses for the staff and hand sanitizer (they couldn't get any of this) before locking down. When they got home they set up mattresses and made sleeping arrangements for about 12 helpers who joined them in the already overcrowded sleeping quarters. Then they initiated the isolation officially.

So far no children and no staff from HCH have been effected by cholera. We do have a few children with mild illness but no one with symptoms of cholera. We thank God for this and we pray that he will continue to cover them.

We are still in need of a nurse or two. We need someone who is proficient at starting IV's and is willing to administer the daily medications and treatments. If you or someone you know is interested in helping in this way please contact Melinda Ulysse by phone at 352-307-2449 or 772-209-2527 or e-mail at hchkids@yahoo.com

Please continue to help us pray for the country of Haiti and HCH as everyone tried to recover from the earthquake earlier this year and now the cholera outbreak. HCH is in need of funding to help cover the extra expenses incurred due to the cholera outbreak if you would like to help financially please see our website http://www.haitichildrenshome.com/

Illness update

2010-10-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

The illness continues to spread in Haiti and throughout our village; we are trying to staff the orphanage sufficiently to initiate reverse isolation (isolating our home to avoid any of the children becoming ill). Mathieu, Lunto, Shae, Melissa and the other staff need your prayers as they attempt to get everything in order to make this happen.

Yesterday we were able to purchase several liters of IV fluid in Port-au-Prince. We would still like to have a nurse on-site to start IV's if need and provide care to the children for other illnesses. Please contact Melinda Ulysse @ 352-307-2449 if you are willing to help in this way.

Once again, please continue to pray for our dear Haiti. We will continue to update you.

Illness in Haiti and Mirebalais.

2010-10-21T17:17:00.001-07:00

This was just posted by one of our volunteers this evening:
I just wanted to send out a quick prayer request. I'm sure many ofnyou have heard a bit about the sickness that has effected Haiti in the last few days. 14 people in our village have died and there have been a total of 134 deaths reported so far and approximately 1500 people effected by the illness. They believe it to be cholera, which is spread by contaminated water. I don't have a lot of details in front of me right now but I ask for prayer for those who have lost loved one through this and also that the Lord would protect our children here at HCH and also the people of Haiti! We are not seeing any signs of it in our children yet, and trust the Lord will keep his hand on us as he always has in the past. Thank you for all your prayers! The Lord bless you!

-Melissa Fehr

In addition to what Melissa wrote I would also like to ask you for your prayers. Also, if there are any nurses who would be willing to donate some time to HCH over the next few weeks please contact me at 352-307-2449 or hchkids@yahoo.com We need at least one person on hand who is effecient at starting IV's.

God bless you,

Melinda Ulysse

Adoption Update

2010-10-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Adoptions have officially resumed at HCH. Several files are now making their way through the process in Haiti and several files are still being put together by parents from various parts of the US and Canada.

Please see our website for updated information on adoption including a few new templates available for download. The web address is: www.haitichildrenshome.com

Several people have called with questions about the new laws in Haiti about travel for adoptive parents. The new travel laws are for parents adopting children from orphanages in the Port-au-Prince jurisdiction. We do not use that court system and our local courts are not yet requiring parents to travel before the end of the adoption. We still do require parents to come pick up their children at HCH when the adoption is final.

For any questions regarding adoption please contact Melinda Ulysse at hchkids@yahoo.com or by phone at 353-307-2449.

HCH Post-Earthquake

2010-01-28T07:43:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends & Family,

This is Shae updating for Melinda. She returned into Haiti yesterday late and we went immediately to the American Embassy and resubmitted the files. We are presently waiting for the call back from that. There has been a hold put on travel documents for the adopted children and this is pending the Prime Minister's approval for each child. For Canadian parents, the CIC came on Tuesday and took pictures, and reviewed the files. We were told to wait for them to contact us and were given no indication of when. Melinda was in contact with the official in Canada and there is nothing that HCH can do at this time. We are setting up an outdoor clinic today to access the children as many are not feeling well; but there is no serious illnesses. We were given one large tent by the UN and I was able to bring in several smaller ones. We have no internet at HCH so we will update everyone as we are able. Thanks so much!!!

The Outing!

2010-01-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

On January 1, 2010, Pastor Massena wanted to take our boys from the orphanage, along with Michael for an outing. Pastor took 8 boys on this little adventure, ranging from ages 3 to 8. Left to right starting with the back row are Pastor Massena, Chris Nelson, James, Lony, Eddy, Robinson, Michael, Cliffly, and Golson. Below is a picture of them, all ready to go!

The first place they went to was the town square. Below is a picture of them all lined up!

Here they are, enjoying the playground at the square!

They got treats, cheese twists and tampico, and headed out to the river!

The two pictures below show you just how much fun the boys had playing in the water!! Swimming was an unexpected thing, so that explains why they were all in their under clothes!

The boys had a GREAT day and the Pastor seemed to have just as much fun as the boys did!

***ANOTHER NOTE***

Grandma Pat's oldest son, Timothy, and his wife, Rachel, had a baby boy on Christmas day! The little one followed his sister Julie, who is 12 years of age! His name is Timothy Robert! A picture will follow later.

Wedding Day!

2009-12-03T03:37:00.000-08:00

On November 27th we had a very exciting day! Melinda was a happy bride! Here are some pictures of the wedding day. There will be more pictures to follow!

Amanda at the wedding!

Melinda and her friend Sharon!

Melinda's son, Thomas, came for the wedding!

A Baby At The Gate!

2009-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

These 3 pictures have a story behind them! This little baby girl was found outside of our gate at 8:30 at night when a neighbor boy called some of our boys and said, "There's a baby outside your gate!" Amanda came calling me and I thought she was playing a joke on me and it wasn't really true, but I went out and looked behind the gate, underneath the writing on our wall, there was a tiny baby wrapped in a torn blanket with a jacket wrapped around her. There were ants crawling on her and at first I thought she was dead, but I saw her feet move. I gently picked her up and brushed the ants off her head, and took her inside for Melinda to consult. Before we did anything, we took her to the police station to make a declaration that she was in our orphanage. It took about 2 hours to do that. After that we brought her home, fed her, cleaned her up, and put her to bed. She had an infection in her embilical cord from it being cut and not tied and it was a wonder she didn't bleed to death. We still do not know whose baby she is so she has been declared orphaned. I named her Hannah. She is doing fine. The first picture is the cardboard outside the gate that she was found on.

This is me taking a look at her before we cleaned her up.
This is Hannah once she had been examined by Melinda and was given a bath and food!

Another set of twins!!

2009-11-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well this morning, we had another set of twins arrive! We have twin boys here already and today, we got cute little twin girls! They arrived shortly after 9:00. Baby A weighed in at 1.4kg and Baby B was just a little bigger, with a weight of 1.75kg. They are drinking about an ounce every 2-3 hours. The mother of the babies died on Saturday from childbirth. We are not sure yet if we are keeping them or just helping the family out. It seems like every time Melinda leaves to go to Port Au Prince on business, another baby arrives! I told Melissa, a volunteer who is here helping us, that I hoped a baby would come during her stay here. Well, we have had 4 babies arrive since she came, which has been just over a month now!

Power

2009-08-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We just wanted to let you know that we do not have any power and haven't for a few days. We only have it for a few minutes while it's directly connected to the generator; but we can't run it like this for very long. We are letting you know this so you will understand why we haven't responded to any emails. Please pass this information along to everyone.

Pat

A Day of Life as a Volunteer @ HCH

2009-08-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

Many folks have asked what it is like living here in Haiti and working at HCH. As a volunteer here at HCH I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what day to day life is like in our home. I arrived in at 10:30 am on yesterday. We got some lunch and then went grocery shopping. During our pretty relaxed shopping we got a call that one of the local pastors who had been sent home to die; needed an iv. Our relaxed shopping turned into a very quick run through the store to ensure we had dinner for our family, volunteers, and 41 orphan children. We then took our 1 1/2 hour journey up the mountain, dodging reckless drivers, and driving acrossed questionable bridges. I was simply thankful that we didn't have to go acrossed in the boats as I did last time. We arrived home to grab medical supplies and then on to the pastor's house. Melinda got the iv in and tried to make him as comfortable as possible amidst the scorching temp with only a fan blowing on him. We visited for a few minutes and then left.

Once arriving home we had lunch and then I slept as I was exhausted from only a few hours sleep the night before. Upon waking; I helped hold a baby down while getting an iv as she was quite dehydrated. I then made my rounds loving and playing with the kids. Our houseboy then came in with a cut running down his leg. Pat then had to send for and administer a tetanus shot to him. Shortly after that one of our two year olds was brought up with labored breathing. I administered a breathing treatment to help his breathing. We then finally sit down to have our dinner and yes by now it is 10:30 at night.

Is it busy; yes it is so busy. Just when you think you might have a break; somebody comes in whether it be one of our children or somebody from the community needing medical care or just attention. It is rewarding; but very busy all at the same time.

What's new

2009-07-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

My grandaughter Julie is here for a month to visit. She was here two years ago and so it's great to have her back. She loves the babies but Ester is her favorite and she is royally spoiling her.

Here I am on my 73 birthday. We had a good time at the pool celebrating both my birthday and Julie's in the month of June. Then we came back and had a nice supper and cake.

The party goers

Long overdue blog

2009-07-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Dieuridson came to us at 14 days old. He was very tiny and it was obvious that he was not completely healthy as his stool was incredibly(and we have seen a LOT of smelly and green, and he cried consistently of tummy aches. He seemed to be coming along, but then Saturday he started to take turn for the worse. By Sunday morning he was on IV's and oxygen and it became apparent that his bowel had perforated as he began vomiting feces and blood. We tried and he really fought to live, but he was very very sick. By Monday morning he gave up the fight and went gently and quietly into the arms of Jesus. We had a small funeral service for Dieuridson yesterday afternoon. It is always sad to lose a little one but we know that he is in the best place he could be.
Sara came Sunday morning. She was born to a young 20 year old girl who died during childbirth and had no one able or interested in caring for her child. Sara's father is 60 and cannot care for her. Some of the details of her birth and history are a little muddy. There is some investigation being done to ensure that we have all the correct information before she is permanently taken into our care. She is quite small and as far as we know spent first 8 days of her life drinking sugar water, so she has some weight to gain! Please pray that she gains weight well and adjust to formula well as she has diarrhea due to not drinking milk previously.

Pray for Adlens

2009-02-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon. Adlens, the baby of the blind lady from the last blog, is doing very poorly and may have meningitis. This is an urgent request for you to please pray for him. We are working diligently around the clock to help him all we can.

This is the position that he is most comfortable in. He seems to need to arch his back and put his head back in order to settle down.

We have several children who are sick in the house and we ask that you pray for them and for all of as for strength and wisdom to care for all of them.

Once upon a Wednesday

2009-01-30T08:37:00.001-08:00

Davidson was born at the hospital last Sunday weighing a whopping 8lbs 12oz(we're used to 2lb preemies). His mother was in a coma and a pastor we know called and asked us to help care for him. He arrived Tuesday and had not had anything to eat at that point. His mother woke from her coma that same morning and left the hospital yesterday, leaving her son in our care until further arrangements are made.

AND THEN WEDNESDAY HIT US

This little girl was born with a not fully developed 6th finger on each hand. Melinda removed one near the time of the hurricane, and they came back to ask to have the one on the opposite hand removed as well. Everything went well and she has been back to ensure that there are no issues with infections. This is the 5th baby that we've seen with extra fingers and toes in the last few months.

Later that day the area mayor came in the door with a baby that had been born at 11am that morning. He had not cried, and was in respiratory distress. Melinda had just gone up to town on some business and so Lori and I started oxygen on him and suctioning the liquid he had inhaled during birth. We called Melinda and let her know that we had a bad baby and she came home within a few minutes. In the meantime he stoppped breathing a number of times and we were kept busy watching him. He spent the night vomiting and being suctioned for the fluid in his system. Around 4pm the next day he vomited a large amount of fluid and after that started doing much better. He was taken off oxygen and slept well through the night. We were happy to be able to send him home this morning. We found out that we had taken care of this baby's(Woodson) older sister in 2003 when she had had a bad experience with a cellulitis from a shot she had received by a nurse at the hospital.

That same afternoon we had a man bring his sister and her newborn baby(5days old) to us. The brother told us the story of his sister. She became blind from glaucoma thirteen years ago when she was 17. One day all the family but her went to the fields to work, and she was home alone in the house. Several men entered her home, locked her in and raped her. 9 months later this beautiful baby was born. Adlens is a very sweet baby but she is unable to care for him, though she loves him and wants to keep him. We have agreed to keep him until he can walk and she is able to care for him. She was so excited to her that her baby had a white grandma! Many of us had tears in our eyes as we listened to her sad story and we are so thankful we are here to help her.

Adlens and his white grandma

So, in a 24 hour period we went from no tiny babies to three little tiny boys.

All in a day's work.

Prayer Request

2009-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Please see Lori's blog for some news about Alyssa(just click on "Lori's blog" to link to her blog)

A glimpse of the last week

2009-01-18T19:00:00.000-08:00

At 3:30 on the 13th, I went downstairs to see a grandmother sitting on my back porch with a tiny baby in her arms. The grandmother said that she had walked a long way to bring the baby here. She said the baby was having trouble breathing and when she handed the baby to me, I thought at first she wasn't breathing at all. But, i soon saw that she was really struggling to breathe and was purple. I ran upstairs and put her on the warming table and had the guys get the oxygen right away. They were really quick and we had it on the baby girl and she started to pink up after a few minutes. Lori was busy running around collecting everything and anything she could think of that I might need, and making sure the oxygen was working alright. We were both praying that this little baby would keep breathing, as there were a number of times we had to arouse her when she stopped taking breaths. I called Melinda to see what advice she would have to help stabalize the baby. The grandmother had made contact with the baby's mother, but she was out of town and had a long way to travel to get here. They had gone to the hospital but there were no doctors on that day, so they sent them to us. We waited and waited for the mother to come, but she did not show up. After the baby was stabalized, we thought it best to send it to a hospital so it could have IV therapy and medicine. I was very nervous about taking her off the oxygen and sending her to another hospital 30 minutes away, but I took it off and she seemed to stay stabalized at the moment. So, Mozard our driver and Cedieu and his brother Gabo, all went in the truck with the little family to head to the hospital. They took an ambu bag with them just in case she needed some help breathing. They met the mother on the way, and they arrived safely at the hospital where a pediatrician was waiting for them, and the baby was put on oxygen right away and was doing just fine. We thank the Lord for His help in helping us know what to do to care for this little one.

A week ago we we joined by this little boy, Edison. His mother died 4 months ago, and he is dealing with the effects of malnutrition. He is eating well, but DOES NOT like dairy products, which makes it hard to make a diet for him. He thinks I'm his momma now, and he follows me around constantly. His father told us that he is 18 months, but from what we are seeing he is 2 1/2 or 3 years old. He has a whole lot of teeth for being 18 months, and his mannerisms are much more mature than an 18 month old. He calls me momma and then jabbers away. He doesn't like it when other kids have my attention, and is constantly batting at them with his hand.

Here's a little update on premature Yvenson. In 9 days he'll be 4 months old and weighs just about 5 1/2 lbs. He's starting to gain weight quickly now, and has turned into quite the spitfire! His mom is here almost everyday to nurse and care for him. She's kind of like part of the house now! He'll stay with us for a few more pounds, probably between 8-10lbs, and then he'll get to go home!

2009-01-13T12:06:00.001-08:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding....please send up some extra prayers for us and the children of our community over the next couple of months. The local hospital has closed for two months because it has changed hands; consequently, all the doctors have left town. Melinda is our only nurse on staff here and she is not home until next Monday and will have to make another trip to the US the beginning of February. This means there will be an absence of emergency care in our village every day Melinda is not here.

As this is being written, there is a 10 day old little girl here dying due to a severe respiratory infection. She is cyanotic, gasping for breath and even an untrained ear can hear the rattling in her little chest. Grandma Pat is standing in the gap; using all the knowledge she has accumulated over the years taking care of children but this little one presents a real challenge. She needs IV fluids as she is too short of breath to drink, she needs IV antibiotics as she is too sick for oral medication and she really needs help breathing but there is no one available to give her these things. Please put Grandma Pat and this little one and her family high on your prayer list as God is their only hope at this moment.

Haitian Pumpkin Soup

2009-01-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

January 1st is a big day in Haiti. This is when Haitians have their Christmas/New Year's celebration, as well as celebrating their independence day. Whenever possible, Haitians celebrate by making pumpkin soup and they go around to all their friends houses and share a bowl of soup. The staff were really excited when they found out that we were going to have pumpkin soup here for them on the 1st. A big thank you to the family who sent the funds to make this possible for them!

Here are some pictures showing how much they enjoyed their soup!

Catching you up on December

2009-01-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

This is a child from the area of Mirebalais who had sores on his head. He came to the house for about a week getting it cleaned and wrapped. After the week was up we sent some cream home with his mom so she could keep up with putting it on his head.

Day 2 and when we realized we were going to have to shave his head. It started to heal very quickly after the hair was gone.

Here is picture of the triplets. They are doing well at home, gaining weight and being taken care of well.

One of our workers' daughters got married and Melinda was supposed to make the wedding cake, but due to circumstances she was still in the states and so, Minnie and I got the job. Here I am with the bride and groom and the wedding cake with the red ribbon is the one that we made.

We were really thankful that Minnie had payed so much attention to her cake-decorating sister, as she helped to pull this all off and we managed to present a pretty nice cake!

Jon and David went to their new homes. This is a picture of me with them. It was hard on the children and workers that stayed behind. Jon is 11 and has been here since he was about 3, and David is 7 and has been here since he was about a year and a half.

Just to let you in a little news from the project in Jacmel. The little town of B'aiu D'orange has many people going hungry, not just children but men and women also. The people were very happy and excited to see the trucks pull in with food, water, clothing, and seeds for them. Mathieu, Mozard and Valdo went in our truck with a load of these things. Due to circumstances the children received help there, and were not transported to orphanages.

Reaching out to help desperate children in Haiti

2008-12-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

We received word today that there is a whole area near Jacmel (southeast Haiti) where children are starving. The Association or private children's organizations got wind of this and wants to intervene on the children's behalf. They asked all the organizations affiliated with them to help with gather supplies to take to the starving children and their families. We will be sending our vehicle and some staff to help with the endeavor. We would like to start a fund for this so we can help as many children as we can. There will be many medical expenses to help get them on their feet, as well as needing to provide them with healthy meals and vitamins. If you would like to help us help these children, please contact us at hchkids@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Patrica Smith
Founder

Updates updates updates!

2008-12-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Richard continues to thrive and grow. His head is still, well, he's trying to grow into it! But, he's an extremely happy child with a ready smile for everyone.

Carlos is the oldest boy in the baby nursery. He is slowly healing from the infection he had when he came back to us in September. He is much more interactive now and is scooting around to play.

Kervens still loves to have all the attention on him. He is doing less crying now and beginning to play. He's has started to get quite fat and smiles a lot.

Kendy is rolling around the floor and becoming very interactive. He loves to be held and talked to and is learning to sleep at night.

Here's an update on Steeven. His skin is looking so much better and he is doing very well. He has a ready smile for us most of the time, and is beginning to reach for toys to play with. If you don't remember him, you can go back on the blog to June and read about him.

This is a project that we have going on right now. It is a wash house on the first floor and an apartment on the 2nd floor. This is a bucket brigade to pour the cement for the roof. It is very interesting to watch. The roof is done and now they are working on plastering the inside of the 2nd story. Once it's all done Lori is going to move in to the new space, anxiously awaiting for the time when it's ready!

It's time to put up the Christmas tree. This is the upstairs tree and all the kids came and stood around in awe as it came together, watching and wanting to help. We put one up downstairs too especially for the children to be able to help decorate. Each child got a chance to put something on the tree and they were so proud to be able to do that.

Yvenson is our preemie. He is 2 months old and weighs just a hair under 3lbs. He was enjoying his bath, sitting in a dipper we use to pour water on the other babies. In this picture, he had just been breastfed, as his mom comes everyday to feed and cuddle him, and had just drank himself full. He is now out of the incubator and in an infant bed beside Grandma's bed.

Our Newest Arrival

2008-12-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Her first bottle...she guzzled it!
Getting ready for her first bath here at HCH
Thinking about what she thinks of this new home....she arrived in all white clothing and Lori's camera flash was going crazy!

Chrisla came to us because her mother is very young and her father was shot in Port-au-Prince as an innocent bystander near Cite Soliel. Her mother has no parents, just brothers and sisters who are unable to help her with caring for a baby. Chrisla will be 2 months old the 11th of December. She was breastfed but seems to be making the adjustment well to a bottle. She smiles and is quite a content baby.

Update on everything happening here

2008-11-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

Our local hospital which is just down the road from us has been closed for the past week due to some vagabonds entering the hospital and threw feces all over the hopsital and locked the doctors in their residence and threw fees all over their door.The reason for this was a political problem between the hospital and some staff that had been let go. All the patients had to be transferred to different places. The adult patients were sent to one of the doctors residences and our pediatrician who works there transferred all of his patients down here to the childrens home. We turned our schoolroomm into a clinic while his patients were here. We had 2 babies and three young boys over the course of a week. During this time, Melinda had left to go the states and so we suddenly had a clinic and no nurse. And so, Lori and I acted as nurses for that week. It seems like that we also have had a lot of sickness go through the house during this period of time. Earaches, malaria, lung infections, skin infections, repiratory problems,etc. During this time, a premature baby came to us and though we tried very hard, he was just too small and the mother was very uncooperative about getting medical treatment and thus delayed treatement by a day. Which in the life of a infant born almost 3 months early is very siginificant. We named him Nathan and it wasn't long before he was safe in the arms of Jesus.

Thankfully, things seem to have calmed down at this point. Our clinic is empty and our children seem to be recuperating well! The hospital is still closed and I am getting patients off and on needing medical care.

On Wednesday we got a little boy named Nadieu(we call him Jay for short). He is 21 months old. His mother died in May and he is quite small for his age and very undernourished. He could not stand or walk when he came, but within in a day of good nourishment he stood up and walked across the floor and has been walking all over ever since. He is being followed by our pediatrician and seems to be adjusting well to his environment. He loves to be held and cuddled and cries when he's put down.

An amazing experience

2008-11-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Janae and I just minutes after she was born

A week ago I had an amazing opportunity that in all my life I have never had before! Through a series of events I was able to go and watch a baby being born at our local hospital. Deanna, one of our volunteers, as well as Lori and I went up at the hospital at 6pm. The lady met us at the hospital and we stayed with her planning to watch her give a natural birth. By 12 midnight the doctor decided that she needed to have the baby by c-section. I asked if there would be any chance that we would be able to watch the c-section and he said, "YES"!!!
So we put on our surgery garb(that was the first time I'd worn pants in years!) and entered into the operating room. It was a thrilling event to watch that baby come out of her mother's stomach!! The baby and the mother are both doing fine.

Dr. Ulysse performed the c-section. We were all amazed at his obvious gifting in this area. As we watched him sew her stomach back together we were in awe of the skill he possesses!

Lori and Janae

Deanna and Janae

Cute as a button:Janae

Happy Birthday

2008-11-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

" I saw a little worm"

Last Saturday we had our August birthday party. Due to the flooding and Lori being gone and an influx of children coming in and a number of other things, we are a little behind on our birthday parties. So, November is our month for birthday parties, and so every Saturday we'll be having birthday parties until we get caught up!

The Triplet Saga

2008-10-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Steeven babysitting Viventz and Paulentzska.

The triplets are starting to grow into their eyes and continue to keep us busy. They were able to go home for the weekend , and it was a good chance to for their family to get a taste of what life is going to be like(and gave us a nice quiet weekend!)!! They are gaining right along and we hope they likely go home next month to stay.

Valentska hanging out it a DOLL highchair...yep, she's still quite petite.

2008-10-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

At 1:00am on October 23 Melinda woke me up saying "Mom, mom, we're getting a baby!" I got up and waited for the people to come up the steps with the baby. When they handed her to me I could feel the cold through her blankets and so we quickly took her to the warming table. Melinda listened to her heart and tried to resuscitate her, but she was just too far gone. From what we could gather, she had been born about 3months early and over an hour earlier, and there had been no-one at the hospital to provide the necessary care as the pediatrician was off duty. It took us while to let them in the gate as in Haiti you just don't open the door at 1 a.m. We held her funeral the next day.

She looked so perfect:another angel in God's hands

October 25 brought us another baby. Kervens(Kevin) came to us because his mom had been abandoned by her husband and has two other children, and that very day was being evicted from her home. She had tried everything to make ends meet but knew that her little boy needed care she could not provide. Though Kervens came with sores all over him and was quite dirty(the toothbrush above was this dirty after scrubbing just his scalp), it is very obvious that he was loved and was given a lot of attention. We are happy that we can care for these children of our community in such sad circumstances.

Kervens

Jolanda came to us on October 10th from a family at the church we attend. They have a number of other children and they're economic situation is bad and they felt that they could not keep Jolanda. She was breastfeeding and is having a very hard adjustment to the change. She is 3 months old and other than having problems adjusting she is doing well.

GloryBed(quite the name, huh!?!?!?)

This little boy was sent down from the hospital the day he was born as he needed the benfit of our warming table. He them went home a couple days later, but returned the next day due to jaundice and fever. His mom is staying with us and caring for him while he undergoes bili reuben treatements and we monitor his fever.

This is GloryBed's umbilical cord. None of us had ever seen a previously tied off cord quite like it and so we just had to get a good photo. His umbilical cord has since been re-cut and re-tied.

Update on the Triplets

2008-10-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Three little screamers all in a row! Here is an update on our triplets. They are are coming along fine. They are gaining weight, though Valentzska is significantly behind her brother and sister. They will be staying with us for a period of time as their mother is not yet prepared to care for them. Paulentzska has on a dress that Lori bought and we all thought she looked like a little princess in it, and even found a pillow to match! Paulentzska
Viventz
Valentzska

Flashback: One 24 hour Crisis:September 29

2008-10-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

This day started out with the arrival of good friends baby. Negran was three years old and had been sick on and off since birth. He had had a fever for about a week and would not eat. He was brought to our home and in the picture above Melinda and Dr.Touissant were working together to try and find an IV site. Much to our sorrow this precious little boy died due to a fever of 108 degrees. We held a funeral for him that day and did our best to comfort the family.

THE FOLLOWING PHOTO MAY BE DISTURBING

While we were preparing for Negran's funeral another baby arrived. She was born with anacephilis, and literally had no skull. Her cerebrum was outside of her head and her body was terribly misproportioned. We knew that she did not have a chance at life, so Melinda cleaned her up and wrapped her up and sent her home to spend her short life with her family.

In the same 24 hour period, this little girl was brought to our door. She had a severe scalp infection that was putrid and parts of her scalp had rotted and were falling off. We managed to clean her up and she actually provided some comic-relief from the stressful last 24 hours when she called Melinda the devil!

She came back for several more days for follow-up treatments.

God's LITTLE miracles

2008-09-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Alyssa the day she arrived:July 16

Alyssa two months later!! Isn't God amazing!!

Meet the new Richard! He came to us last week and is doing great!

The town criers:The triplets are doing great, 2 are going home this week, the girl on the left is still quite fragile and will stay at HCH for a while longer!
Steeven arrived on June 30th weighing 9lbs at 16months of age. He came to us after the witch doctor gave up on him, and had a lot of physical, emotional and spiritual issues that required a lot of prayer and patience on our part.

Today: Steeven smiling! Isn't this a beautiful example of how God can take something so awful and hopeless and turn it into something so beautiful!!
Samuel is getting so big!

Our newest addition. This is Yvenson, a 31 weeker that arrived on Tuesday. He's obviously very fragile and underdeveloped, but seems to be doing alright at this point. Please pray for him and for us as we care for this precious little bundle.

Where things are at

2008-09-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our night up at the hospital

Contest: How many babies is Pat hiding under there?

Preparing supplies for neighbours who have lost everything

Dear friends:

Many are concerned about how we are doing after the hurricanes. Here is a brief account of the events that happened surrounding the rage of Ike.

The children's home was not flooded although the water came within 20 feet of our perimeter. Most of our neighbors that are on the side toward the river were completely flooded out with some of their homes being completely covered by water! No one was killed, thank the Lord but several were hurt and the terror was beyond anything I can explain as the flooding took place at 2 -3 am and many woke up to the water already high in their homes. One man tells of frantically looking for his two year old in the murky water, in the dark when she fell as they were trying to run. He did find her and was able to pull her out before she drownd.

We had to evacuate as the water kept rising and we felt it wasn't safe to keep the children in the home. At 2 am I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep but didn't realize why at that point. I sat and read a book and then I began to hear the noise from the rising river never dreaming that it would ever be able to come clear up to our neighborhood. Around 3 am I went down the hall and listened and I began to get concerned as it was obvious that the river was quickly reaching our neighborhood as it sounded like it was right outside our gate. I tried to call some of the neighbors to let them know that they needed to evacuate but the phone service was down and I couldn't get through. A few minutes later I hear screaming and lots of it. I knew immediately that some their homes had flooded. I called for our night staff and asked her to go downstairs and wake up the children and start carrying the toddlers upstairs (the babies live upstairs). I went and woke up our 2 volunteers and my mom. I don't think I have ever had an adrenaline rush as huge as that night. Our power was out and the stress was overwhelming as we ran room to room making sure we weren't leaving any little ones behind. As the ladies and I ran from one room to the next suddenly a group of young men from the area came bursting into the house screaming, "get the children, the river is coming." They helped us and within 5 minutes we had all the children safely upstairs. We went back down to get clothing etc.

In the meantime, Thym went to see if the road was still clear so we could evacuate and it was but by time we loaded 15 infants including the 3 premature babies and 25 children in the truck and were ready to leave, the road was covered high with water and the truck could not get through. We unloaded the children and decided to just keep everyone on the 2nd floor of the house and pray for God's mercy as we didn't know what else to do. Thym continued to look around the area to see what we could do to evacuate at least my mom and the children to the hospital up the hill to a safer place. After about an hour and a half he came home with a solution. The neighbors up the hill (so away from the river) had agreed to allow him to drive our truck through their gardens and out to the main road. Thym knew that our new truck would not make it as it lacks height and the engine is not powerful enough so he prayed a prayer and fired up the old Toyota. Within minutes we had my mom and most of the children in the truck. Thym made 2 more trips and got everyone to safety. I stayed behind to pack the necessary items, make arrangements for food, get bedding together and boil drinking water and sterilize enough bottles for all the babies (15) for 24 hours. One of the most amazing things about this part of the story is that the Toyota had not been used for several days because it was out of gas and we were not able to get any. The truck made 3 trips over off-road muddy terraine on E. Isn't God wonderful. His miracles never end.

The water never did reach the children's home. It did come within 20 feet on one side and several yards on another but it didn't come in. There were homes straight across from us that were completely flooded but the water never came in our gates. The local people say it was the work of the angel of the Lord. They say that God put his angels around our home and kept the water out. It is the only explanation really. We are grateful for His faithfulness and mercy.

We spent 1 day at the hospital and by then the water had gone down enough that there was no longer a risk and the rain had stopped and the road was clear. We were so grateful to the hospital for taking us in but keeping 40 children (premature infants to 12 years) and all their stuff in a 12x14 square is a difficult task. The children were so crowded that they could hardly sleep and kept rolling on top of each other as they were spread out all over the floor. At 4 am Monday, I woke up our oldest boy (12 years) and had him start helping me load the truck. We then woke up the 7 school age boys and we headed home with the first load of stuff. The children were so excited when they found out not only were they going home but they could have a bath (the local hospital has no water). One 6 year old boy bounced up and down and on the seat of the truck and said in a sing-song kind of voice: "We get to take a bath, we get to take a bath." By 6am all the children were home. They were so tired and worn out from the whole ordeal that all of them took a nap that afternoon.

The destruction caused by the flooding is wide spread here. The river flooded so badly and the current was so strong that it pulled up everything in its path including homes, heavy equipment from the UN base outside of our village and anything else in it's path. All this debri collected at the bridge on the main road between us and the local village, finally the bridge could not stand up to the pressure and was ripped out completely. With the bridge out the only way from here to there now is by a rough hand-made canoe. This means we have no way out in case of emergency between 5pm and 5am and we can no longer get in our vehicles and go to the village or to Port-au-Prince.

The past few days we have spent every minute we can trying to help those in need. Up in the village there are hundreds whose homes were destroyed by the river. On Tuesday the mayor asked us for help with clothing, blankets and whatever we could give. He said there were 25 naked babies at the shelter and he had nothing to give their parents to put on them. We went through our storage shed and sent several totes full of baby pajamas, blankets, and chidren's clothing across the river to them.

Wednesday and Thursday we went from home to home cleaning up piles of mud, scrubbing floors and walls and doing whatever needed to be done to help the people get back into their homes. All of the homes near us were able to be clean and can be repaired but many of those up in the village are completely destroyed.

Yesterday afternoon we delivered several plastic totes of children's clothing, blankets and shoes to our neighbors homes as many of them lost everything in the flood. We hope to be able to help them more in the coming weeks as the Lord provides. Hunger will become even more prevelent than before over the next several months as everyone in our area lost their gardens. Even the plantain trees were destroyed which means this storm will effect some for up to a year an half from now as plantain trees bear fruit in 12 to 18 months and plantains are a staple here.

Please pray for our community and Haiti as a nation as thousands are suffering the results of the last three hurricanes and many are homeless and hungry.

In His service,

Melinda

PS: The titles of attachments explain the pictures

The effects in Mirebalais of Hurricane Ike

2008-09-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of how Ike has devastated our area. We are safe and sound considering the circumstances, but our friends and neighbors have been terribly affected. More information will follow shortly, but we wanted everyone to see the reality our community is facing. Please continue to pray for HCH and our community and the country of Haiti.

Waterline high above this toddler bed

Haitian homes across the river destroyed by the water

The bridge is totally blown out causing a kind of island effect

The mud that is covering every square inch of our neighbourhood...the fields, in houses, stores, covering belongings and causing insect infestation

Ike's Devastation

2008-09-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike has caused wide spread devastation here in our village due to flooding. Hundreds have lost their homes and everything they own. Fortunately the orphanage was not effected other than loss of electricity for 4 days although we did evacuate for a little of 24 hours as the flooding came within 20 feet of the orphanage on two sides.

Our neighbors on the side toward the river have all been effected and really need your prayers. We are spending every minute we can helping them clean out the piles of mud (6 to 12 inches deep) from their little shacks so they can move back in. Please pray for the people of Haiti as the flood damage is nationwide here.

More Little Faces

2008-08-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

On August 1st, two days after our triplets came, we received a nine-day-old baby boy, Jean Kendy (pronounced Kendzy). Jean's mother died and he was immediately brought to us. It is always sad when a child loses their mother but particularly so in this case because Jean's daddy had lost his first wife 12 years ago and had to give up his daughter to me at that time. The poor man is so distraught. I can't even imagine his grief going through this a second time. Jean Kendy was not very well when he came. He was very yellow with jaundice, was dehydrated, and a bit lethargic. He is doing much better now and is a normal five-week-old.

Five days after Jean Kendy arrived, Adam arrived at two-weeks-old. Adam was already a strapping 7lb 6 oz little guy, which is huge for the newborns we usually receive. He has a darling, chubby face, a big appetite, and a thick head of hair. He is doing very well.

On August 12th, we received another newborn, Pierre. He was rushed here immediately from the hospital. He arrived at our door not breathing. On further assessment we realized that he had experienced a very traumatic birth, which was later confirmed by the doctor. The mother lived an hour and a half away and was unable to receive adequate medical care. We did all we could for him, and worked for four hours trying to get him to breathe but it became obvious that there was nothing we could do. When we looked at the clock and saw it had been four hours and Melinda was still breathing for him, we put down the ambu bag (used to provide rescue breathing) and laid our hands on him and prayed. We asked God for mercy, either healing on this earth immediately or healing in heaven immediately. Little Pierre was gone by the time we opened our eyes. Melinda made the very difficult call to the doctor and the grandmother soon came. We buried Pierre in our private cemetary the next morning in the presence of several neighbors and family members. It was sad but we were glad that he was in heaven, free from pain and laying in the arms of the Savior and completely healed.

Update on Alyssa, Carlos, Steeven and RoseLisa

2008-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is doing very well at the moment, despite having numerous illnesses since birth, including skin infections. She has also been on IVs off and on. At present she is doing very well. She turned three-months-old last Sunday. She is still small for her age.

Carlos' hemoglobin has come from a level 2 to the current level of 12. He is doing amazingly well for as sick as he was. In the last two months, his development has been great, despite the neurological damage he has which the doctor has advised is permanent.

What can we say about Steeven? He is slowly making progress. His skin seems to be clearing up little by little. He is holding his head up more consistently on his own. We are exercising his extremities every day. He now reaches for toys hanging from his play-gym. He is eating some semi-blended food and overall is doing well. One of his continuing problems is constipation and being able to relieve himself on his own. He has to have frequent enemas or suppositories in order to avoid pressure on his abdomen and the resulting pain. He occasionally laughs and does make eye contact with us now, which he did not do before. We are very pleased with his progress.

As you may remember, RoseLisa is the little girl with crippled legs. She was very sick with dehydration when she came. She has gained weight and is now doing very, very well. She is sitting and playing with the other children, and has finally become accustomed to her bedtime routine. Her mother comes every evening to play with her and put her to bed, and is learning to care for her special needs. We are very, very happy to have received news from Lori that she has found a surgeon that may be able to help RoseLisa with her condition. You will probably be able to follow this up on Lori's blog at a later date.

Triplets

2008-08-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

At long last, here is an update on the triplets we received on July 29, 2008. We are sorry for the delay because we know so many of you have been asking about them and praying for them. We have been so busy taking care of them that it is only now that we have had any time to introduce them to you! As we have no infant monitors, the triplets required 24-hour observation during the first two weeks. Melinda, Valdo and I took three hour shifts throughout each night during this time, and I continue to do the night shift now.

The above picture is of Paulentzka. She weighed 1.3 kilograms (just over 2 lbs) when she was brought to us. She and her siblings were born eight weeks early. During the first two weeks with us she had two episodes of respiratory distress (i.e., she actually stopped breathing), which required rescue breathing. She was on oxygen and prolonged IV treatment. Because of her critical condition she actually lost weight, but is now back up to her birth weight. She is currently doing very well and is able to take one ounce of milk every three hours.

This is Valentzka. She was the first born of her siblings, and was the tiniest at 1.25 kilograms. She has been the most unstable of the three. She was not breathing when born, and was on oxygen for her first three weeks. She has had a lot of bowel issues, which can be fatal for premature infants. She is still on IVs, and is not able to take in She is being tube fed 5 cc's (approximately 1 teaspoon) every three hours. Her body temperature is unstable, constantly dropping and requiring her to be on the warming table. She remains in serious condition and needs your prayers.

This is Viventz, brother to his two sisters. He was originally the strongest of the three -- and largest, at 1.5 kgs -- but in the first week he quit breathing once and had a severe infection with jaundice (yellowing of the skin). During this time he became very weak, and for several days we were very concerned whether he was going to survive. The infection has now resolved, however, and he is taking one ounce of formula every three hours and gaining back the weigh that he lost.

Thank you so much for praying for these little ones. We are happy to report that Paulentzka and Viventz are now stable. Please continue praying for Valentzka in particular, given her serious condition, and that all three remain free from infection. I am in my element watching these babies not only survive, but begin to thrive as little people.

Our Triplets!!!

2008-07-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

We received a set of premature triplets on Tuesday. They are 8 weeks early and weigh in at 2 pounds a few ounces each. A future posting will tell about their arrival and more information about each baby.

Update on Carlos and Steven

2008-07-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Carlos on arrival
Carlos 9 days after he arrived

Carlos is doing much better. He is eating well and drinking milk from a bottle. The pneumonia he arrived with is almost gone, and he has begun to show us his spirited side. He can sit unaided for short periods and is much more interactive. Carlos still complains when we pick him up, but then settles in quickly. He seems to have good and plentiful blood flow and now we are just continuing to care for him as be builds up his strength. Carlos' family is still undecided as to what they are going to do regarding his future. Thank you for praying for Carlos: God indeed has worked a miracle in this little boy.

Steven on arrival

Steven 10 days after arrival

These pictures are to give you an idea of what these little boys looked like when they came in and what they look like now. Steven still has little blisters on his body which were are treating and cleaning with an antibiotic wash and cream. He seems much more alert today and responsive. Steven has been off of oxygen all day today and seems to be doing well. He drank 2oz of milk on and off today. The moaning that was so consistent is less and less and he seems much more content. He sucks his fingers for comfort and we assume that this was a comfort to him, and maybe the only one, before he arrived at our door.

Emergency Room

2008-07-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

My bedroom has become an intensive care unit for the last 5 days! We already had 2 babies in my room, and 3 more showed up within 24hours on Sunday/Monday.

Micah was born at Sunday afternoon at 1:00 and his mother and grandmother brought him to us at 4:00. The grandmother works at our facility and they came because Micah's mother was ill and could not breastfeed him. They thought she had the mumps, but later found out that she has an infection and is highly anemic and is not doing well. Micah is doing really well here at HCH, and will be here until a decision is made regarding his future.

Carlos arrived at 8:00 on Monday morning with his aunt and grandfather. He was very unresponsive, moaning constantly, and stopped breathing on several occasions. His toenails and fingernails were filthy, yet we could not miss the white color due to the lack of oxygen and blood. Due to his severly dehydrated state, we could not get him going on an IV site for 10 hours, and resorted to clysis, putting fluid under his skin on his back, to hydrate him. His hemoglobin was 2 (normal is 13-16) and so he was given a blood transfusion that evening after we secured an IV site. He tolerated the blood well and it amazing to see the color change in his toenails and fingernails. He is not tolerating his tube feedings well, so this evening we fed him cereal by mouth. It was a fight to get him to eat it, but he kept it down. Carlos cries and moans constantly and does not like to be touched, although he responds to being picked up and cuddled. With a hemoblogin like he had, it is only by God's grace that he is still here with us. His family told us he was 8 months old, but he acts more like a 20 month old in size and weight and development. He plays with his hands and hums and reaches to hold your hand. His dehydration has left him quite swollen and his body cannot absorb the feedings we have given him. He seems very uncomforable and we are still unsure as to exatly what is going on with him. Please keep Carlos in your prayers. Carlos just minutes after arriving. He really was this color due to anemia, and as he came to life he had a wild look about him.

Here is a comparison between Carlos' skin and the foot of a normal healthy baby. Notice the significant color difference and swollen creasing of the top foot

Carlos sitting with Jojo and receiving a blood transfusion. His overall coloring changed significantly with this life giving blood

Steven: This baby was the third to arrive, and I guess I would say was in the worst condition. When Lori and I went down to look at him, and saw what condition he was in, we both cried as we carried him up the steps. It is so sad to see a baby in this condition no matter how many times you have seen it. He had sores all over his head and his body looked like it had been charred, and we found out later that he had indeed been burned. His skin on his body was dark and dry and was coming off in clumps. He is 16 months old and weighs around 9lbs and is swollen throughout his stomach and his legs. He will not drink anything by mouth, and is on IV's and being tube fed nasally. The father told one of the fellows that stays here that the child had been at the witch doctors for several weeks. We have no idea what they gave him there or what they subjected him to. The father said that many demonic things were done to the child in search of healing, and one practice that we are aware of is "baptism by fire". This practice involves building a bonfire and tossing the child over the fire from one adult to another. This is done to ward off evil spirits. From what we can tell, there is singed hair on his body and limbs and this is what has led us to believe that he was subjected to this horror. It appears to us that Steven is not responding to any affection or interaction. He is not consoled with human contact, and is only starting to be comfortable with being held. We bathe him daily and put Eucerin on his dry, singed body. Our hearts cry out for him for the pain that he suffers constantly at such a young age. He is not out of the woods yet, so your prayers would be appreciated. He is in respiratory distress and as we listen to him we are thinking more and more that it is due to smoke inhalation.

Steven's body is very dry and has very poor skin integrity due to what we believe he was exposed to with a witch doctor.

Lori holding Steven just after he arrived. You can see how sunken his fontanel was

After a bath

Me sitting with Steven as he received IV fluids and some human contact

We are very thankful for the volunteers that have come to help us! They have all been wonderful at pitching in here and there with our emergency and the regular happenings in the house. This would have a very difficult time without their helping hands. We give God all the glory that these children are coming through these difficult circumstances.

Pictures from the Church School Graduation

2008-06-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

These are the 11 children that had perfect attendance
The child with the highest academic achievement

Some more kids receiving report cards and backpacks

Church School Graduation

2008-06-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is our first year of having a church school. It is separate from the school at HCH, and is affiliated with the church that we attend here in Haiti. This school is supported by a church that is pastored by Mike and Corrine Mannes, a family who recently brought their two boys home from Haiti. The project is being run by Steve Johnson, Canada side, and I am what you all the go-between for them. The school started with first and second grade, and the children that attend this school are those who would NOT have been able to attend school this year due to their parents not having the funds to send them. The church that supports the school also funds their uniforms, books and everything else they need for their education. It costs about $150 to send a child to school in Haiti, and this is a large amount when your annual cash flow for the entire year is about $300. So, this school is a blessing for many children, as for most of them it is the first time they have ever had the chance to atttend school.

They also provide a hot lunch every school day. Graduation day was really exciting for the children. Lori and I were very happy to be able to attend and see what they accomplished. There was a prize given to the child who made the highest grades over the whole year, and also a prize given to those children with perfect attendance. There were 11 children who were not absent, out of 54, which was a high percentage!! The church that supports them gave each child a homemade backpack stuffed with school supplies, toys, toothbrush/toothpaste, facecloths, and other wonderful surprises. The children with perfect attendance recieved a monetary gift and a small toy to encourage them to study more and attend school regularly. For the first graduation from this school, it went very smoothly and even started on time!! The parents were so appreciative of the support this school provides and the gifts that were sent from so far.

A little update on Berto

2008-06-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Berto is smiling more and responds a lot when you talk to him. His skin is looking much much better. He is eating cereal very well and blended foods. Every day we can see an improvement! He has got quite the personality. Attached is a recent picture of him

Going Home

2008-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is Bedza. He is 6 years old and came to HCH when he was just 2 years old. Wednesday he will be leaving to go to Miami to meet his new parents and start a new life. He has met them on a number of occasions and is excited to be heading to Canada, though not totally sure what it all means. Please pray the his transition will be smooth.

This is Samuel, Bedza's younger brother. He was a newborn when he came and has spent his whole life so far at HCH. He will be going to meet up with he and Bedza's adoptive family in the states, and they will be accompanied by Melinda and I. Please pray as HCH is the only home he has ever known.

Our little Operation

2008-06-09T13:04:00.001-07:00

This is Patricia and Patricia. She's a little girl who I got to name in the neighbourhood. We actually took her mother to another hospital as she was bleeding, and shortly after she had a c-section. The baby's father brought her here for us to name, and to show us that she had a sixth finger on each hand. After talking with them, we decided to remove the extra fingers.

Preparing to remove the finger on her left hand.

Today we removed the other finger, which was a little larger than the first. Melinda tied surgical thread around it and then removed it. Baby Patricia tolerated it very well and will be returning tommorrow to get it checked.

One year old baby

2008-06-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

Berto arrived Sunday afternoon shortly after we arrived home from church. A pastor from a neighbouring church had called during church to ask if we could help a little baby. Melinda and I went down to look at him, and saw that he was covered with sores, probably scabies, and had scurvy. When Melinda scrubbed his feet, they were very black with dirt and covered with sores. We could also tell immediatly that there was some kind of brain injury affecting Berto. His eyes flutter constantly back and forth, and he is very small and thin, weighing in at 9lb 4oz at one year of age. Melinda gave him a bath and washed his hair and removed globs of dirt. He looked much better after his bath, and today is looking even better. He's being tube fed every 4 hours and tolerating it well. He tries to look at you when you say his name. He has a long way to go, so please pray for him.

Berto's feet before being washed.

His nails were embedded in his hands.

Shaving his head to remove the rest of the dirt.

Year End School Program

2008-06-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Our children who worked so hard learning English this year

'Cause only God in Heaven can make butterfly '

Our Audience

Presenting Certificates

Mathieu

2008-06-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been asking how Mathieu's leg is doing. In case you are not aware of what happened, he injured himself on a tree branch and ended up with a severe infection in his leg. It is doing much better and he is now on oral antibiotics.

A view from behind:Cellulitus

2008-06-02T19:53:00.001-07:00

A little boy from the area known well to our family came to us with this problem:notice how swollen the right side of his bum is. We discovered that he had cellulitis, and he spent 3 days with us on IV meds to fight this infection. This infection likely started due to a bug bite that got infected. The fever is now gone and he was able to go home this afternoon, though he will be returning every morning for a few days to ensure the medication is working, and to recieve a new dose.

Our Newest Addition

2008-06-02T19:42:00.001-07:00

This baby's name is Esther. She came to us on Sunday morning at 14 hours old, and has an infection and is on oxygen and IV at the moment. We figure that she is post-term. She drinks very small amounts from a bottle, so the IV is supplementing that. Her parents had an unfortunate situation which caused them to give her up for adoption.

May/June Birthdays

2008-06-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday! Julie came to us as a newborn as her mother could not care for her as she was in a desperately poor situation, and brought her to us and gave her up for adoption.

Joanna is a big 6 today (well, as the of the 30th). She's eagerly awaiting heading home this summer to join her family in Canada.

Christopher and Christian

2008-05-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

These twin came to HCH in February 2007 weighing in at 3lbs 3oz, and 3lb6oz. Christopher was on oxygen for a while, and they spent 6 months in our home and then were returned to their parents. The first picture is from when they were 7 months old, and the second picture is of them visiting last week. They are walking on their own now and are quite active.

Update on Samuel and Isaiah

2008-05-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Isaiah is coming along well. We've been giving him lots of milk and now he is eating food. The swelling in his face is going down slowly but surely. He holds both hands to be picked up when I go in the room and also has a ready smile. His dimples are so cute!

Samuel now has gained 2 1/2 lbs, bringing him up to 6lb 6oz. He turned one month on the 5th, so by now he's actually a month and a half. He's drinking formula and sleeping well. But when he's hungry, everybody knows it!! And he's often hungry!!

Remembering Simon

2008-05-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Arrival Day: March 5
Simon and Samuel
Weiging In-4lbs each (or so!)
Brothers: 6 days old
Simon:Forever in our hearts

I have wanted to write about the twins, but since they were sick, and then after losing Simon, it's been hard to know what to write. Samuel got sick first and was very jaundiced. Then about a week later Simon became ill and jaundice as well. This took us by surprise as they had seemed to healthy when they arrived. Their mother had died after birth, and we had recieved no information as to what the cause of her death was, or any medical history. Samuel pulled through the illness slowly but surely, and is now doing fine. He is undergoing some tests to see if there are any abnormalities due to his sickness and the death of Simon.

Baby Simon did not pull through his sickness. He was very very yellow due to jaundice and was very ill day in and day out. He fought for life, and Melinda and I stood by his bed trying to help him, but to no avail. We prayed for him, and at last it was very hard for to me to realize that I had to resign myself to whatever God's will was. On the last morning when he was so sick, I told God that I knew Simon was His, and that if He was not going to heal Simon, to not allow him to suffer anymore. One of the hardest things in my life was having to watch Simon die as he did that morning. On his last day I told him how much I was going to miss him, but that I knew he was in God's hands. Melinda and I shed many tears after he was gone. He will forever be remembered as part of our family.

Our Newest Addition: Isaiah, 6 months

2008-05-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Meet Isaiah. He came to us at 9:oo this morning with his father and maternal aunt. He is 6 months old and appears in fairly good health, except for what appears to be the beginnings of Kwashinor's Syndrome, which is proetin deficiency malnutrition. His mother has been sick since his birth and stopped nursing him at 3 months. She is paralyzed and unable to talk. The family is not economically able to care for him, and have asked us to take him into our home. Isaiah has other siblings at home who are 6, 8, and 10 years old. Please pray for his family and that he will have an easy transition into our family.