By Robbie Middleton | Sponsorship Coordinator
Most Casa Jackson patients stay for around 2 months while they recover from life-threatening malnutrition. Once in a while, however, a patient stays with us for a much longer period. This year, for almost 8 months, we looked after beautiful Berlyn.
Berlyn arrived at Casa Jackson after she was abandoned by her parents. There is an age difference of 38 years between Berlyn’s mother and father. Berlyn’s mother is known to suffer from epilepsy.
In February 2020 she was taken to the Hospital in Malacatán, San Marcos with pneumonia by her father. While Berlyn was in hospital her mother did not visit her. After she had recovered from pneumonia, Berlyn’s father was informed that he could take her home from the hospital. He told the nurses that he needed to go and get something first and then left and never returned. At the beginning of March 2020 Berlyn was brought to Casa Jackson by Guatemalan Social Services weighing just 11 lbs 3 oz. (5.07 kg) and severely malnourished.
At first, Berlyn was quiet and reserved at Casa Jackson. The hair on the back of her head did not grow as a result of lying on her back all day and it took time for her to try and move or roll over. She also took some time to get to know the nurses, staff, volunteers and other babies. After a few weeks, however, Berlyn began to come out of her shell and show off her personality. She particularly loved to listen to music and began to show off her own dance moves, waving her arms and shaking her hips. Berlyn’s lively personality and dance moves quickly made her a staff favorite.
Berlyn also learned many new things at Casa Jackson. She began to say one or two words and started to walk with support from an adult or in the stroller. With her hair growing back she learnt to use a comb and she picked up some new dance moves from some of the mothers in Casa Jackson. She began to be more independent and would explore Casa Jackson herself. She would play with her friends and could often be heard laughing and giggling.
During her time in Casa Jackson, Berlyn gained 10 lbs. 11 oz. (4.85 kg) which was 96% of her initial body weight. She stayed at Casa Jackson for such a long time as her future living situation had to be organised before she could leave. As she had been abandoned, Berlyn had nowhere to go once she had recovered, and so she stayed at Casa Jackson until somewhere for her to live had been found.
After staying at Casa Jackson for almost 8 months Berlyn was finally found a home with a relative who agreed to look after her. She had had a wonderful time at Casa Jackson and had made incredible improvements but it was time for her to go home. She made the long journey back to San Marcos to start her new life with her new family.
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