We are so humbled that we have raised $3,000 so far to Kibuye Hope Hospital’s NICU and Pediatric ward project! This is enough to build the small NICU and to provide oxygen and incubators to the hospital’s smallest patients! Now we are working towards increasing the capability of having oxygen run throughout the wards so that oxygen is available to both the NICU and the pediatric ward. Currently only 4 patients at a time are able to receive oxygen. If you feel led to donate here is the direct link to Friends of Hope Africa University...
Friends of Hope Africa University
Make sure to note that your donation is for the NICU/Pediatric Ward project.
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| Infants sharing an oxygen concentrator (big blue box). |
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| Dr. Alyssa Pfister with one of her tiny patients in Burundi. Notice her University of Alabama lab coat:) |
From Alyssa’s latest blog post…“In other news, we've really struggled lately in finding enough oxygen for the patients who need it. We brought 4 oxygen concentrators with us on the container (thankfully donated!), but they're all 110V, so they require either a transformer or one of our few 110V outlets here with a plug converter. Basically we can provide oxygen for up to 4 patients at a time - out of approximately 80 patients in the hospital. I often have 4 patients on pediatrics alone who qualify! And that doesn't leave any oxygen for the operating room or anywhere else. We lost a premie last week because he was taken off oxygen prematurely in the middle of the night. And when the power goes off (sometimes for several hours per day), no one gets supplemental oxygen. There are hard ethical questions sometimes on a daily basis deciding who gets the oxygen - I've dealt with these questions with limited ventilators in the ICU in Kenya, but never with something as simple and (relatively) harmless as oxygen by nasal cannula.
In the midst of these challenges, I have been so encouraged to see help on the way via some friends in Birmingham, AL. The Grants are friends from my church (Red Mountain Church) there and have two children who are NICU survivors. In honor of their sons, they are raising funds for our new NICU and pediatric wards here - to include oxygen! People have already given so generously and we've started renovating a room in the OB ward for a small NICU. It's now painted and we're just waiting for incubators to be constructed so we can start caring for our smallest patients in a warmer, cleaner, more controlled setting.”
Here is the link to Alyssa's blog...
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| This little one has my heart...amazing eyes. |
We were first moved by this project when we saw a picture of Alyssa holding a preemie baby girl who just needed oxygen and an incubator to live. Unfortunately, they did not have those resources available and the baby died the next day. Our hope is that now more babies will survive and thrive because of the new equipment and resources.
When Jerry and I look at the pictures of Burundian children on oxygen, head pick lines and in rustic versions of an incubator we feel so connected to them. Benjamin and Jud are amazing miracles and God used the NICU and Children’s of Alabama to make those miracles happen. If we can in the tiniest way help even one child we are so humbled and grateful! Here are a few pictures of Burundian babies and Grant babies using oxygen concentrators (the big blue box as Barrett and Benjamin call it) and nasel cannula.
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| Newborn on nasel cannula |
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| After Jud came off the ventilator and his chest tube was removed all that was left was his little nasal cannula. This was my first Instagram pic of the little guy. Til then it was way to hard to even share pictures. Feels like a distant memory now but he was a very sick boy. |
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| The night before we left the NICU (day 28) we stayed in a "family room" to learn how to use all of Jud's new equiptment... and yes it was as overwhelming as it looks in this picture. Amazing to now think of all that equiptment as a luxury. |
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| I'll never forget our neonatologist saying to us "You want to go home on oxygen?" I mean...really? Then she explained how important bonding with parents and siblings would be to Jud's physical and developmental growth...this is his first day home with his brothers. We stayed in PJs all day and took turns snuggling with him...heaven on earth. |
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| Benjamin's favorite person on earth |
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| and Barrett's too... |
OUR NEXT BLOG POST...later this week will be for Benjamin's 6th Birthday. We will
share more of his journey as a NICU baby with a TEF repair at a day old at
Children's Of Alabama.
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