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.





Saturday 12 February 2011

Sonia: A Reason to Celebrate

At the end of a difficult and emotionally taxing week, there is reason to celebrate:

Little Miss Sonia has been off her oxygen for 8 days. She has been oxygen dependent for the past two months. For much of that time, dozens of people in North America have been working hard to try to secure the care that Sonia needs, overseas. They are hitting many obstacles and, at the same time, coming across many new opportunities.

Those of us who are working with Sonia in Haiti celebrate that she is now stable. Please pray that she will remain healthy over the next few weeks. Many children with Downs syndrome are deficient in a particular immune protein, which, makes them very susceptible to infection. This may explain why Sonia gets so many severe infections, and why it takes so long for her to recover from illnesses that other babies bounce back from very quickly.

For now, Sonia does not leave the nursery with our volunteers. She does come out of the nursery with me and she gets plenty of love and attention from all of the NICU staff. Although she is a little bit spoiled, Sonia is a very sweet baby, and completely undemanding. She is still weak from her most recent illness and finds it difficult to suck from a bottle. Despite this, she continues to make progress in her development.

I believe that Miss Sonia will surpass everyone's expectations of her. It is highly likely that she will leave GLA, very soon. It is my privilege to love her and care for her, even if it is only for now.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

She is so cute. I have been praying for her since she came to GLA. I am hoping she gets more care soon, but so glad she is getting such loving care now. More than anything I am so thankful she is stable and happy.

Jennifer from CA

mbs said...

OH WOW! My girls and I are following Sonia's story with great interest and are praying fervently for a hospital to take her (We're secretly hoping for one in Southern Ontario to take her :-) What a treat it was to see this post today and to see her beautiful face without tubes running across it.

Susan, thank you for all you do for these precious babies, especially after the difficult week you have had. I understand through Tom's blog that you are having a holiday soon. I pray that HE will replenish your soul and bring you back able to continue your amazing work.

Please give Sonia a big hug and kiss from us.