one momma

Elimene (30yr old, 69#) and Bedshaina (3months old,  7.72#)

Each and everyday there are a line of people waiting outside the clinic to be seen by our Haitian physicians and clinic staff.  The patients range in age from just a few days old, all the way up to the really old looking patients who honestly have no clue what their ages are!  There are many people who simply pass through the clinic.  People I probably won't ever see again.  And then there are some who become so much more than just a "patient."

I remember the day I met Elimene.  Aubree and I had started triaging patients when I noticed her and her young daughter sitting by themselves outside.  Elimene was so small and fragile looking.  I called them inside and it was then that I literally felt myself breaking for this family.  It took all the strength Elimene had to walk into the clinic while carrying her three month old little girl.

At thirty years of age Elimene weighed sixty-nine pounds.  Yes, 69 pounds.  She lived at home with her husband, an eight year old daughter, and a three month old little girl, Bedshaina.  During Elimene's second pregnancy her husband threatened to leave her and their first child.  There wasn't enough money to make ends meet with just the three of them let alone with another baby on the way.  Towards the end of her pregnancy Elimene became very sick.  She became so sick that she was barely able to walk or carry her newborn daughter. And yet she continued to fight for her baby and chose to breastfeed her daughter.  While we are 100% advocates of breastfeeding we knew that breastfeeding was literally killing this momma.  This momma needed more nutrition in order to survive. We committed to walking alongside Elimene and Bedshaina until Bedshaina's first birthday.  We committed to providing them with rice packs, whole milk (for Elimene), and infant formula for Bedshaina every two weeks.  We still encouraged Elimene to breastfeed, to keep that bond with her sweet little girl.  But we also provided her with formula to help supplement what her body wasn't able to provide.

Elimene (70.48 pounds) and Bedshaina (5 months and 10 pounds!)

I used to break when I would see Elimene walking towards the clinic.  Emotionally I couldn't handle seeing her.  And yet, I was drawn to her.  Drawn to love her and drawn to hug her.  There was something special about this mom.  There was something different about her.  She never asked me for anything besides what the malnutrition program provided.  She didn't ask for money or clothing or any other random thing.  She loved her daughters and I knew that if she was willing to fight for her health and for her family- then we would be willing to partner with her on that journey.  Both Aubree and I prayed for this mom and her little girl.  We prayed for her entire family too.  

I don't remember what day or month it happened, but there was a day when Elimene walked into the clinic and for some reason I didn't just want to cry.  She looked good.  Really good.  Her body had been transformed.  I remember thinking thank you Jesus because that was the only answer and reason that any of this was actually possible.  It was a privilege to watch Elimene not only grow in weight, but in confidence and in respect for herself.  She went from a mom who would sit in the back corner by herself, to this mom who would sit right in the middle of all the other mommas and visit with them.  She laughs now too. It isn't an awkward laugh, but rather a laugh that comes from her heart.  Recently she told me that she saw some of her husband's family and they were shocked at how well she looked.  She said, "I simply looked at them and said God is faithful."  

I still get teary eyed when I think about this journey with Elimene and Bedshaina.  God has truly allowed Aubree, Katherine, and I to watch a miracle unfold before our eyes.  He has forever changed this family and in so many ways we too have been forever changed and impacted by them.  In October, Bedshaina celebrated her first birthday!  As we sang happy birthday to her and gave lots of hugs and kisses, my emotions were all over the place.  Mentally, I knew that once Bedshaina turned one she would graduate from the program.  I forgot to tell my heart all of this.  I might have even made Katherine keep them in the program an extra two weeks just so I could see them one more time!  I know that I'm going to miss seeing this family every two weeks, and that our malnutrition appointments won't be the same without them present.  I love that Elimene wasn't just a random patient that walked through our clinic but that she truly became a friend to me.

Elimene and her daughters

Bedshaina (103 pounds!!) and Elimene (15 pounds!)