The past 2 days

YESTERDAY'S UPDATE:

Today, Dorothy and I had to take Frantzo and Tamara to a hospital in Carefour. The hospital is currently offering a free orthopedic clinic with American doctors and surgeons. The clinic does not go by appointment, rather you must show up early and just take a number. We had three other children with HIV clinic appointments at a different hospital in a different direction. So, Dorothy and I didn't get to the orthopedic clinic until ten AM.

Tamara had 2 leg casts that needed to be removed, and Frantzo needed to see a doctor about getting an orthodic for his foot so that he can walk properly. Tamara was able to get her casts removed, but after over four hours of waiting, Frantzo still had not seen a doctor. The waiting room was crowded and there were not enough seats. So, Dorothy stood the entire time and I sat on the floor with Tamara. I won't lie, it was pretty miserable. Frantzo unexpected got sick to his stomach and vomited. So, we ended up having to leave before he saw a doctor. Five hours of waiting down the drain. This is life in Haiti, ha!

Two nights ago, our puppy started vomiting up blood and having blood in his diarrhea. Needless to say, we were very concerned for him. A friend of ours is a veterinarian, but she does not live in PAP and she was leaving the country today. She called us at 3 AM and told us to try giving him and IV. THANK THE LORD that my days of working at a boarding kennel and a rescue kennel paid off!!!! I actually already knew how to give a dog a subcutaneous IV. Thank God that we had plenty of IV fluids and needles here at the house! I stayed up with Jake until around 4 AM giving him IV fluids. After we got home from the orthopedic clinic, I gave him IV fluids again. Richardson and Mich both laid hands on him with me and prayed for him. After Dorothy picked up our nanny and children from the HIV clinic, we had one hour until the vet's office closed. Dorothy and I FLEW through all the back roads we could think of to get to Petionville as fast as possible. It was rush hour city traffic, but somehow we made it to the vet's in 45 mins just before they were about to close.

The bad news is that Jake has parvo. The way that the doctor explained it, it is a highly contagious virus among dogs. In most cases, it is fatal. The doctor said his only chance of survival was to get an IV, anti vomiting meds, and antibiotics. So, Jake will be at the vet's office for at least three days, most likely a week. Even with all that treatment, he may not survive.

When we got home from the vet's office, the kids all immediately asked me where Jake was. I explained to them the situation as best I could. Immediately, Rosa said, “M'ap priye pou li!” Which means, “I'm praying for him!” After we got into the house, Claudine (four years old) spontaneously prayed for Jake out loud.

Just like all of our children, Jake came to us abandoned, wounded, sick, and abused. Now, he is infected with one of the worst virus a dog could get, also similar to our children with AIDS. Our home is a place for healing and love. Lord, please hear and answer the prayers of your precious children. Heal their puppy, Jake. Show them that you truly do answer their prayers.

TODAY'S UPDATE:

I was determined to finish painting my new room today. So, I got right to work at 7 AM. I worked all day. I even skipped lunch so I could keep working. The only break I took was to drive Mich to the vet's office in Petionville to see Jake. We were VERY happy to see that he looks a little bit better today. He was very excited to see us. In fact, he was so excited that he piddled all over me. What can I say...he's still a puppy, haha. Thank you, Lord for watching over our precious puppy!

After we got back from the vet's office, I went back to my painting. I worked until 7 PM to finish it. So, I put in almost 12 straight hours painting! Like I said, I was determined to finish it today. Some of the nannies and kids came in to admire my pretty purple room. Ha, yes...it is purple. The hardware store had very limited choices for paint colors. I think I had the option of white, cream, bright blue, bright green, orange, yellow, brown, black, or purple. So, I used white to mix my own shade of purple. It's quite girly. :)

Other than that, I have no news to report. All the kids are healthy and happy!