In Septemeber 2008, I traveled 6000 miles to Haiti's Kenscoff mountains. My mission: to care for some of the orphaned and abandoned, the sick, malnourished and premature infants of this beautiful but beleagured Caribbean nation.





Thursday 11 March 2010

Answer Me, O Lord


Donley, our premature baby boy who arrived from Cazale 2 weeks ago, developed diarrhoea on Monday. On Tuesday he was dehydrated, and had to be started on IV fluids and antibiotics. He perked up within a few hours.

Last night, though, was a hard, hard night for Donley. He was in a lot of pain. This morning, I gave him some morphine. He settled immediately, but proceeded to have seizures. Then, shortly after lunchtime, he stopped breathing and his heart rate plummeted. I managed to resuscitate him with an ambu-bag. Clearly, he was a very sick little boy.....

Donely stopped breathing for a second time early this evening. After several rounds of medication and over an hour of resuscitation, he wasn't making any effort to breath on his own. I prayed repeatedly, yet were no signs of life. We stopped. Clamped off the IV, shut down the oxygen machine, wrapped the baby, and held him.

Colour drained. Heart rate slowed, and had all but stooped, when, all of a sudden, there was a gasp, and another, and then steady, laboured respirations.

Back in the incubator, oxygen on, IV unclamped. Tears. 'Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again. (1Kings 18:37).

The baby opened his eyes and looked from one nurse, to the next. Within a few minutes, his vital signs were normal. Then, just as suddenly as the breath had returned to his body, it left again. The Doctor who was with us couldn't hear a heart beat....Donley gasped, and gasped again, his eyes rolled before focusing again.

'When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes ' (2 Kings 4:32-35).

It seemed, that every time Donley's oxygen saturation rose above a certain level, all at once, his heart would slow and he would stop breathing.

We can guess at the reason....a cardiac problem, and electrolyte imbalance, maybe something metabolic......but we will never know quite why, Donley died and rose three times tonight, and then died a final death.

5 comments:

Rebekah Hubley said...

Praying for you Susan! I can't imagine the heartache of losing so many babies... You are being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Ithappenstobehaiti said...

there are no words. I am so sorry. I will pray the Lord protects your heart.

Stephanie Redmond said...

I am so sorry. Thank you for all that you do.

nicnacpaddywac said...

Susan, i can't imagine how this must have been for all involved - my thoughts and prayers are with you. {hug}

RT said...

Susan, you are God's blessing for these babies. Donley passed in loving arms with loving eyes looking over him. I hope that we can all have that same comfort when it is our time. Thank you for giving these babies an identity and a voice. Love & blessings to you!