Good News...

Gifty is home! She was discharged home in her full body cast. This will pose some challenges to Heidi and the family in caring for her, but they are happy to have her home. Luckily Gifty loves books and music so she should be well entertained while she is stuck in bed. Heidi was talking about getting a wagon to pull her around in so they can go on walks and get outside. The cast is supposed to stay on for another three and a half weeks. That means it should be off just in time to celebrate Gifty's 2nd birthday!

Feeling useless. . .please pray for Gifty.

I just found out that Gifty was never discharged from the hospital. Her lungs were improving but she started having a lot of pain, not wanting to be touched or moved, so the doctors did some x-rays and found multiple broken bones. After more tests they have determined that she has Rickets (a vitamin D deficiency probably related to her liver failure) which explains the broken bones. She is currently in a full body cast, intubated and sedated in the ICU. I am feeling pretty useless here on the other side of the world, so thought the least I could do is put out a plea for prayer.

Gifty gets a helicopter ride.

Gifty continues the fight. Yesterday she was flown via helicopter to the hospital in Minneapolis, emergently because she was having a hard time breathing. She has been diagnosed with a respiratory infection (possibly pneumonia). They are giving her antibiotics and breathing treatments. She was admitted over night. The good news is she is responding already and is supposed to be discharged this morning. While in Minneapolis they are following up with the liver transplant specialist. Even though Gifty is continuing to improve physically, learning to crawl and laugh and seems to be getting stronger her liver function is getting worse. The blood tests they use to determine transplant necessity has jumped from 15 to 21 out of 30. Gifty's is the highest in the region, that puts her at the top of the transplant list.

Gifty and Heidi have been in my thoughts constantly these last few days. I know Heidi is having a hard time reconciling how well Gifty looks on the outside, yet her numbers are getting worse. Hopefully the time is getting close for a new liver, but it is hard to wait on the unknown. I know a lot of you have followed Gifty's story closely and she has become a part of your lives. Knowing her has definitely changed mine. If you have any encouraging words or thoughts you would like to share with Heidi please e-mail them to me (debbie@orphanreliefandrescue.org) and I will pass them on to her.

As always, please continue to keep Gifty and Heidi and their family in your prayers. Thank You.

Korpu Walks!

I am rejoicing! Korpu took 8 steps without help. For most 3 year olds that would not be impressive, but for Korpu it is momentous. When ORR first met Korpu she was severely malnourished and required hospitalization. Over a year later she was well fed and growing, but still not walking on her own. In March I brought her to be evaluated by a Physicians Assistant (PA) at Monrovia Rehab Center (MRC). He fitted her with insoles to help stabilize her feet and encouraged lots of practice walking. Over the last 5 weeks the caregivers and older children in the orphanage have taken turns helping her walk in the home, down the hill, around the well, through the football field. . .anywhere they could.

I was visiting the home last week, preparing to take Korpu back to MRC for a re-evaluation. I sat down near where she was standing and tried to get her to walk to me. She stood there by herself for at least 15 minutes before she finally psyched herself up for it. I looked over just as she took one shaky step, then another. Building confidence and speed, as all children do as they are learning to walk, she closed the distance between us. What a victory! She walked some more for me as we waited at MRC and then again for the PA. He was very happy with her progress and said as long as she continues to gain strength and walk, they do not need to see her again at MRC.

Soon we will be chasing her all over the place and not be able to slow her down. I can't wait!

Movie Night

This evening was movie night at Fatu's orphanage home. Cramer and Mariel have been meeting with the older kids there over the last few months. All the kids were given an opportunity to share the story of their life (how they came to the orphanage, what their life it like there, what their hopes and dreams are for the future etc.) on video. Cramer put them all together and tonight was the premier. We used a sheet for a screen, borrowed a projector from a friend, took the generator from our house and don't forget the cookies, popcorn and candy. During the showing of the kids video Ashley and I attempted to entertain the smaller children. After a few rounds of the Hokey Pokey and Father Abraham they were pretty antsy and curious about what the big kids were doing. I have to admit it was a bit exhausting, but overall they did pretty good. From what I heard, the kids in the video really enjoyed watching themselves on the big screen. After the kids video we brought in all the small ones and everyone watched a Veggie Tales video. Everyone loved it. When I walked in the room all I could see were wide eyes glued to the screen. Ma Mary was sitting next to me and watching and giggling along with all the kids. At one point I heard her exclaim "Ah-ha" and realized she had just recognized the Veggie Tales storyline from the Bible. The kids had seen a Veggie Tales before, but it was still a treat for them. But for the Liberian kids it is not a Cucumber and a Tomato, it is a Pumpkin and a Bitterball (common Liberian veggies). All in all it was a great evening and fun was had by all.

Too Cute!

Here are the latest pictures of Gifty.

Too cute!

For more super-cuteness check out the link to the video below-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY2o9hcv6OU

water

I realized the other day, while I was drinking my "cool wata" from the bag as we headed between orphanage homes, how so many things that are normal here would be so weird to do at home. Thirsty? Forget about bottled water. Get me a 5LD (about 8.5 cents) 500ml bag of cool mineral water out of the cooler on that old Ma's head. It does take some practice, be careful not to squeeze too hard. But, it sure is nice and refreshing on a hot Liberian afternoon.

In other water related news. . . the well at our house went dry. There is no municipal water in the entire country. Everyone exists on wells. Most people have to start their day before dawn by hauling water from a community well. At the ORR house we have a well inside the fence that we use for showers (outside under the stars) and bucket flushing the toilet. We buy drinking water for around 1-2 dollars per week. Last Friday the water in the well was low so we started rationing water. By Monday it was completely dry. You don't realize how much you take something for granted until you don't have it. With no water to flush the toilet or shower, well, you can imagine the consequences. We all started praying for rain. Thankfully some water found it's way to our well and by Wednesday we were back in the water business. Phew!

Spring Fever

I woke up today feeling alive. I have spent the last 2 days in bed fighting some mysterious African fever. Not fun. But today I woke up and felt human again, felt alive and then remembered it was Easter. Not only am I alive, I am alive because Christ is alive. That is why I celebrate today. Like we sang in (the 4 hour long Liberian) church service this morning- Jesus Christ is Risen today. Allelujah!

Sapo National Park

There is only one national park in Liberia. Sapo National Park. Some friends and I had the great opportunity to explore it. Sapo is the second largest primitive rain forest in West Africa. We had to get special permission from the forestry department of Liberia to even visit.

Our adventure began last Friday afternoon as we headed out from Monrovia with our packs, drinking water and enough food to get us through 4 days of the unknown. We found a camping spot on the beach in a town about 3 hours away. We slept right on the beach surrounded by sounds of the ocean waves and underneath a million stars. Amazing! We woke up before dawn and were sipping a delicious camp mocha when we spotted 2 dolphins playing off the coast and enjoyed watching them for a few minutes before loading up the car for the estimated 7 more hours drive to Sapo.

After several hours on the road we finally found a sign that gave us hope! Sapo was near. The roads along the way were bumpy at times and some of the bridges questionable but we made it without any problems. As we arrived in the village where the park headquarters is located, we were greeted by a town full of naked children (which I have a great pic of but don't think it is appropriate to post on a blog, watch for it in National Geographic). The park warden was expecting us and after a short inservice about what to expect in the park and meeting our guides, Alfonzo and Junior, we were introduced to the village chief and town elders. It felt so African, sitting in a Palava hut and being welcomed by the village chief just prior to setting out on a big wilderness adventure. Our departure was somewhat delayed by a brief rain storm, but that seemed appropriate, heading into the rain forest and all.

(Camp Michael.)

We hiked about a hour and a half to get to the place where we set up camp. After about 45minutes we reached the river and had to be carried across in shifts by a canoe. By the time we reached and set up camp we had just enough time to cook dinner and filter enough drinking water out of the creek before it got dark. That night we took it easy, enjoyed the campfire and some great conversations before heading to bed.

(Upacca tree- run here if you see an elephant.)

We started our big day of hiking early Sunday morning. The forest actually reminded me a lot of home, except it was warmer (much more humid) and there were fewer (ok, none) pine trees. But overall I felt very at home there. All the lush green and foliage on the ground was comforting. Our guides were great, they pointed out trees and tracks of animals and attempted to teach us the call of the dieger (some deer-like animal). We did not actually see any great forest animals, but we did see proof of them. We saw a lot of elephant tracks, I still have a hard time picturing them living in the dense forest, but their foot prints were everywhere, often the trail we were following. We were told that we could use the Upacca tree (pic above) to protect us from an elephant if need be. We also saw the tracks of the Bonga, some huge cow like animal that as the guides described is bigger than our tent and taller than me. ah! There was also some hippo droppings (the very rare pygmy hippo lives in that area), I really wish we could have seen the real thing.

(Along the trail.)

About 5 hours into our day hike we came to the river. After that long of trekking and sweating through the forest it did not take long for us to dive in and enjoy the refreshment. Crocodiles? Um, don't worry about what you don't see, right?

(Picture break. That is a pretty good looking group after how many hours of trekking through the forest?)

We had been told that there were no trails throughout the park and the guys has come prepared with cutlasses (machetes) to blaze our own trail. There were trails. but very primitive and there was a lot of chopping of overgrowth along the way. We also had to cross countless small rivers and creeks, sometimes with only a few branches to use as a bridge. It got iffy a couple of times but we all made it without an unwanted plunge.

(There is no way to capture all the beauty.)

We arrived back at camp after 8 crazy hours of tromping through the park. We did not see another person the entire time. After a wash in the creek and dinner (which I literally fell asleep while making) we all hunkered under the tarp as the evening rain storm hit. It was a great storm, reminded me of camping in WA (it is not a good camping trip without a good rain storm, right?). I think the evening gathered under the tarp in the rain was actually one of my favorite parts of the weekend. But it was not for long, by 8:30 we were all asleep.

(I told you, I really fell asleep while fixing dinner, thanks Ashley for capturing it for the world to see.)

We packed up early the next morning and hiked back to the park headquarters where the warden and some freshly fried plantains (yum!) were waiting for us. We did not linger too long before loading up the car and heading out because we still had the 11 hour drive home.

(We made it! Everyone at the finish line. Junior, Andrew, Solo, Laura, Alfonzo, John, Ashley and I.)

So is 22 hours driving worth 11 hours hiking through the Liberian rain forest? Definitely! It was an amazing and beautiful experience, shared with great friends in God's creation. It really does not get any better than that.

PS- If you are interested in a different, more technical version of the weekend (including GPS positioning) check out John's blog at www.johnetherton.com.

The New Blue Chair.

A brand new BLUE wheelchair!

Can a boy ask for anything else?

Buster is 9 years old and has the most contagious smile. He is not able to use his legs due to contractions, weakness and underdevelopment. Last December he received a new customized walker from Monrovia Rehab Center (MRC). I was privileged to carry him back for a check up last week. The staff at MRC was happy to see his progress. Buster has been practicing walking with his walker and can get around fairly well. However, he often tires out and requires a wheelchair to maneuver some of the spaces around the orphanage home. The wheelchair that he had been using for years was too old, too big and recently both of the front wheels broke. This left Buster isolated and relying on the other kids at the home to help him get around. What a blessing that MRC had just the right "Buster sized" chair for him. He couldn't stop smiling as he tried out his new wheels. Buster was greeted by excited cheers from the other children as he wheeled around the corner at the orphanage in his new blue chair.

Watch out Liberia, there is no stopping him now!