This is Faith

This is Faith. She is four years old. She has a hole in her heart.

I met Faith last week. A colleague who does similar work with different orphanages in Liberia introduced me to her after a short term team visiting from the states had identified unusual heart sounds when they were checking up on the children. They had met Faith before and the little girl that had been quite active before was now weak and lethargic. That coupled with the heart murmur caused them great concern.

Last week we took Faith to a doctor that I know here in Liberia. They examined her, did an x-ray and some labs and confirmed my suspicion-- as best as they could with none of the proper diagnostic tools available-- Faith probably has a ventricular septal defect (VSD) or some other kind of congenital heart defect (aka a hole in her heart). The only fix is surgery. 

Liberia doesn't even have a cardiologist or the ability to do the best diagnostic tests, let alone a heart surgeon who could do the surgery. So, Faith is now looking at traveling to Ghana for the diagnostic tests and possibly needing to go to the states for open heart surgery.

Faith needs your prayers. She is sick, but has already proved to be a fighter. I don't think it is a coincidence that this little girl is called Faith.

*If you feel like you would like to help financially with getting Faith the medical treatment that she needs please go to www.orphanreliefnetwork.org to donate. (Please note that Orphan Relief Network is a different organization than Orphan Relief and Rescue.)