By Lyssa Schmidt | Communications Director
In Haiti, things can become desperate for children quickly. The country has a 62.8 child mortality rate, meaning 62.8 out of every 1,000 children under 5 die; compare that to 6.5 of every thousand in the United States (source: UNICEF)
Thankfully, independent organizations exist to work at improving the odds, incuding our partners at Real Hope for Haiti. RHFH runs a clinic and rescue center to support children with health complications and malnutrition issues. Jake's sends cloth diaper kits to support its operations.
The clinic recently coordinated a collaboration and sponsorship to save a little boy's life. Real Hope for Haiti shared the boy's story here:
Tity is a 19 month old boy who came to clinic 3 weeks ago with edema involving his whole body, high fever and low oxygen. Turns out he was extremely anemic (hematocrit 10%) and had malaria. He needed a blood transfusion ASAP.
We talked to his mom about sending Tity to a hospital by ambulance for a blood transfusion. She said she needed to go home and talk to her husband first. So she left him at clinic.
He was placed on oxygen with good improvement in his oxygen saturation. He was also treated for malaria and the fever resolved.
Unfortunately, his mother did not come back. We were able to locate Tity’s father. However, he had no money to pay for a hospitalization. Blood transfusions are very difficult to arrange in Haiti. Fortunately, a hospital in Port au Prince said they could arrange for a transfusion AND the hospitalization would be sponsored.
So Tity was transferred via one of our clinic vehicles on portable oxygen to Cabaret, where he was then transferred to a Hero ambulance and taken to Bernard Mevs. He was hospitalized for several days, received multiple blood transfusions and then was transferred back to the Rescue Center.
His anemia had resolved. He was continued on treatment for the edema, which has now completely resolved. It is amazing how the pieces fell into place for this little one to receive the treatment he so desperately needed. Praise be to God!
By Lyssa Schmidt | Communications Director
By Lyssa Schmidt | Communications Director
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