I remember the first time I knew I was no longer needed.

A baby in critical condition had just come into the clinic, and the staff leapt into action to get her stabilized. I repeatedly tried to make myself useful and pick up a job that needed to be done – take the child’s temperature, grab the IV tubing, turn on the oxygen –  but everywhere I turned someone was already taking care of it.

I ended up sitting in a chair in the corner and watching them save that child’s life. 

Not gonna lie, I still get a little emotional sometimes when I think about that moment, and to this day there is nothing that makes me as proud of our team as watching them own this ministry.

Just last week I got to watch them do it again and as they all jumped into action to save Baby Belcy’s life. 

Emano, our community advocate, lives in the community we serve and is one of those people who seems to know just about everyone. If you’ve been around CHM a while you’ve probably already heard stories of Emano’s huge heart.

Last week a family he knew contacted him about a baby in desperate need of help. Baby Belcy had been born 3 days prior in the Carrefour government-run maternity hospital. For all the horror stories I have heard, this place is equivalent in my mind to one of the deep circles of hell. 

Baby Belcy had suffered oxygen deprivation at birth, and was having near-constant seizures as well as signs of a serious infection. His parents couldn’t afford to purchase all the medications and supplies that had been ordered by the hospital, so the hospital just let him lie there and seize for 3 days. It makes me shudder thinking about being in that mama’s shoes, watching her baby suffer like that.

Belcy’s family contacted Emano on Friday to see if he could get them transferred over to our NICU, where they had heard they could get free, quality care for their baby. We were, of course, willing to take him, but the hospital refused to make the transfer until the family paid for Belcy’s mother’s delivery bill. They couldn’t pay for the medications to care for Belcy… they obviously did not have this money, either.  

They were completely stuck – the family couldn’t pay for Belcy’s care at the hospital, but neither would the hospital let them leave!

It’s horrendous what people go through in Haiti while trying to get medical care for their children, and how unfeeling the hospital system is when faced with life or death situations like Belcy’s.

We needed to cover Belcy’s mother’s cost before we could spring him from that hospital, ASAP! This was the only part of the story where I was necessary – to find a donor willing to cover Belcy’s mother’s hospital bill so we could bring him to our NICU. It took only minutes – thank you, Nathalie! – and the wheels were set in motion. 

Once we had the go-ahead for the transfer, the well-oiled machine (aka our team!) took over. Our transportation guy rented the ambulance, a nurses got the supplies they would need to bring him safely “home”, including a tank of oxygen, and another nurse got the triage table ready and prepared a bed for him. You get the picture. 

Within a few hours we had Baby Belcy snug in a bed in our NICU and on anti-convulsants and antibiotics, with his very happy and relieved parents by his side.

Belcy’s mother has already lost one child to illness, she very well could have lost Belcy, as well. But thanks to our incredible team and the support of people like you, this was the outcome instead: 

Belcy is scheduled to be discharged in the next few days and seems to not have any lasting complications of his traumatic first few days. We are so glad! Go, team!