Forgotten & Neglected

We visited the hospital again today. There is a little boy that has been in the hospital since February when he was hit by a car. He suffered a severe head injury, surgery was done to relieve the pressure from the brain. He was left with sever brain damage. He is so thin and emaciated at this point that he looks like a skeleton with skin drawn tight around it. He has had no physical therapy , has not been turned regularly and has not had proper nutrition. So you can imagine how malnourished and how much skin break down that he has. He is an orphan, who has one distant relative that has been faithfully by his side the whole time. She has no financial support herself either.

God put this little boy and his care taker on Kristen’s heart and she started raising money to help him. I have to be honest, when Kristen called me and told me that she was raising money for him, I thought, there is not much we can do for this one. But I called one of the doctors from Baylor, she said that she had just decided that it was time to do something to help this little one. She said that they had walked by this one numerous times and thought, it’s no use, and passed by. One day she was drawn to stop and held his hand, as she was asking about him, he squeezed her hand. She knew at this point that there was something still there and that she had to try to help him. There is a strength in this child to hold on, even when everyone had given up on him. She was saddened by the state that he was in just from neglecting to give him proper nutrition and physical therapy. She was so excited when she heard that we were raising money to help him. She said the money could be used for his tube feedings, physical therapy and wound therapy.

At this point he has bed sores on each hip, and starting all the way up his back. Everywhere that there is a bone protruding, there is a sore, the two on each hip, showing muscles, ligaments and bone in varying degrees. So, we got the formula for the tube feedings and started on our quest. I contacted a wound therapy nurse that I knew, and she came today and dressed all of the wounds so they could begin to heal. Our next step is to find a physical therapist that can work with him on a daily basis to help loosen up his arms and legs. He is drawn up in a fetal position. We instructed his care taker to exercise his joints daily and to turn him every two hours. We also got an egg crate mattress for his bed to try and prevent further skin breakdown.

It is so exciting to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those that are otherwise forgotten. There are many others that are in great need as well, we can’t help them all, but by God’s grace and leading, we will do our best to do what we can. The doctor that made rounds today was so excited at what we were doing for this little boy that he had us come and see another similar case in the next room. Our financial resources are limited, please pray for us to be guided by Gods wisdom and not our own as we move forward.