Baby Abel

The day got off to a slow start. It was pouring rain. Space is limited at the guest house so we couldn't get our breakfast until the large team of volunteers had completed theirs and gone to the babies' home. As we rested on our beds I said to Cheryl, "Do you feel like we're waiting for something?" (Meaning something more than breakfast.)

Eventually, it was our turn to use the kitchen. Just as we finished spreading the peanut butter on our toast, Barbara (the Sanyu director) appeared in the kitchen to invite us to accompany her to visit Mulago Hospital where one of the babies has been admitted for Severe Acute Malnutrition. 

So this is what we had been waiting for. 

We had 10 minutes to get that toast down and prepare ourselves for departure and off we went. 

Mulago is the national referral hospital for the entire country and consists of multiple buildings housing different specialties on a large property. Baby Abel is in the area where children with nutrition problems are cared for. And staying with him is dear Rachel, the mama we visited at another hospital last year. 

Abel was admitted to Sanyu after being abandoned. He was severely malnourished and became very ill and failed to gain weight in spite of the care he received so required hospital admission. 

The past few days he has shown improvement. However, the precious 6-month-old boy we met today weighs less than 8 lbs. He is tolerating frequent small amounts of special formula that he takes eagerly (and which I fed him by cup) as well as small amounts of solids - a peanut-based paste which he loves. His weight is slowly increasing and he entertained us with his variety of facial expressions and happy smiles. 

We had a 3-hour visit while Barbara left to do some other errands. That gave us a glimpse of the activities inside a large room accommodating 30 cribs for malnourished babies. 

More on those observations tomorrow. 

To be continued...