Baby Edgar & The $28
Baby Edgar & The $28 - A True Story from Guatemala
(Wherein Anita encounters a crying mother, a dying baby, and a shack with little
food and five malnourished kids who don't go to school.) September, 2001
Anita met a lady she didn't know on the street last Monday afternoon around
12:30. The lady was crying so Anita stopped to ask what was wrong. Under the
blanket this mom had a 5-month-old baby, almost lifeless. "The doctor said my
baby is going to die", she rasped helplessly. "My husband gets out of work at 2
pm, and maybe then he can borrow Q200 (US $28) so we can take a bus to the
hospital (45 minutes away by bus) and get my baby admitted.
It was drizzling and looked like rain, so Anita brought the mother and baby back
to our house to wait, and so she could examine the baby further. The baby's face
was cherubic, plump rosy cheeks and big brown eyes. To look at his chubby face,
you'd think he was healthy. (Here, that condition is called “baby sugar"
condition)
But Anita was horrified as she further examined Baby Edgar. Under the bundle of
clothes, his body was shriveled up to almost nothing with deep wrinkles on his
tummy, indicating a drastic, rapid weight loss. His lower arms and hands were
almost white and were cold and limp; and his feet were swelling, indicating lack
of protein in his veins to keep the liquid in his veins.
He hadn't been drinking anything for days, vomiting, diarrhea. Esmeralda hadn't
been able to breastfeed for six weeks because she had been sick and in the
hospital. The grandmother hadn't been able to get him to take a bottle during
the three weeks the mother had been in the hospital. Anita weighed him. Baby
Edgar had gone from 16 pounds to 9 pounds in about six weeks. He was in very bad
shape, and it was clear he wouldn't live more than a few more hours without some
immediate care.
Anita quickly mixed up some rehydration fluid and started to feed him with a
little dropper, like the one you’d use to feed a baby bird, or baby squirrel.
Little by little he started taking the fluid. That would be his life support for
the next two hours, until we could get him to the hospital. It was this
drop-by-drop hydration that kept him alive until he later received an IV at the
hospital.
Executive Decision – time for action
We concluded that the baby might not live until the end of the day - it was time
for some decisive action. We certainly didn’t want the complications of a baby
dying at out house. So we put the mom and baby in the van and we went to wait
for the father to come out of work. He had already left work by the time we go
there, and was walking all over town to try to borrow the $28 he needed to admit
the baby to the hospital. But he wasn't having any luck.
"We've got to go to the hospital right now", we told the father. "But I can’t, I
don't have the money", he said softly, chagrined. We assured him that we’d lend
it to him and not to worry, but that we had to leave right now.
At the private hospital, which was really not much more than a clinic and not a
very clean looking one at that, we sat with the mom while the doctor signed the
admittance form and collected the Q200. They started Baby Edgar on an IV with
later administration of antibiotic to kill what the doctor believed was an
intestinal infection.
The 'hospital' room was a large room with six beds in it, no curtains; dark and
didn't smell very good, either. Very basic, you would say, even for here in
rural Guatemala.
The Nurses - The Young and the Useless
The young nurse was respectful, professional and kind to these poor people.
Edgar's mom wore 'typical' clothing, like the indigenous people wear in the
villages, but this young nurse treated her fairly. Later, when the nurses
changed, and a nurse wearing indigenous clothes took over, we could see a
noticeable change in attitude. She was rough, rude and didn't want to be
bothered with these poor people. She shut the door of her office and wouldn't
answer the door for the father when he needed water. I went to the main office
and complained again, and the other young nurse came down to open the door. We
got a little (reluctant) attention, but I could see that this was going to be a
long night for the poor father. This poor treatment is common, we find.
The Parents Want to Leave the Hospital
After the baby was on IV for an hour and we could see he was responding to
voices and moving his eyes back and forth, the parents found out that there
would be more costs. So they wanted to leave right then and there. No, I told
them, "You must keep the baby here for at least two days.... we will lend you
the money for this." The father said "Thanks that is very kind, but I don't want
to get into more debt than I already am ... so we should go". I assured him that
we would make this a gift from our medical mission and that we'd take care of
all expenses if he promised not to leave the hospital (which would have meant
certain death for the baby.) He agreed, and we mixed up some powdered formula
and started giving Baby Edgar this formula by dropper.
The hospital requires that one of the parents stay with the baby 24/7. Well
that's a bit of a hardship for this couple. Although they are only 24 years old,
they have four other children at home, and the husband works 5 1/2 days a week
for $137.50 a month. But the hubby agreed to stay at the hospital overnight,
because the mother has a very severe case of thrombosis (we are actually
concerned about her health-she should be in the hospital, too). He didn't want
his wife in a situation where she can't lie down. You see, you aren't allowed to
lie down on any of the unused beds or they will charge you for a day's stay of
Q25 (US$3.50) a day. So the parent that stays has to stand or sit by the baby's
bedside at all times, all night.
We went to the father’s workplace told them that he was in the hospital with his
baby son and that he would be back in a few days. The Koreans who run the place
are tough, and because he missed more than one day, they suspended him for an
entire week. So, the father has time to be with his baby and care for the five
other kids, but now he will lose 25% of this month's pay.
Something We Didn't Like - Where's the Soap?
When I went to wash out a bottle, to make milk, I was told that all patients
have to bring their own soap, toilet paper, towels and whatever thing that they
need to use while at the hospital. Ok, I said, but I want to wash out this
bottle for the baby. Too bad, you have to go get your own soap. So I went to
complain to the main office and asked them to simply let me wash out this bottle
at the nurse's station, wherever the nurses usually wash their hands and so on.
Well, there was no soap there, either! Only a little plastic bag of Fab!
clothes-washing detergent. No disposable hand towels, no soap, nothing. That is
when Anita and I said to each other 'something is wrong with this place.' About
that time the rude nurse came in after attending a patient, rinsed her hands in
cold water, wiped them on her skirt and went out to the next patient! I
complained about this to the head doctor and his excuse was, "well we don't have
many resources here, and it is hard to buy what we need, but the nurses *should*
use the antiseptic soap that is in another room. ‘What about disposable hand
towels?’, I asked. "Oh, we only use regular towels and wash them every few
days." was his professional reply. Ugh! Sure enough, dirty terry cloth towels
hung by the sinks.
We Go to Another Hospital
The following day the father told me that, after he had explained the he didn't
have enough money to stay here any longer, the doctor gave a letter to transfer
the baby to the IGSS. IGSS is the free, government hospital but you need a
special card to get admitted, which you can only get after six months at a
company that signs up for IGSS. Fortunately, the father had such a card. In the
nearby town of Antigua, the IGSS staff is very unprofessional and rude and we
know they make many misdiagnosis. They had told the mother last week – “Go home,
your baby is fine.’ They wouldn't fully examine the baby and wouldn't treat her
kindly and didn’t seem to care at all.
But the doctor assured us that the IGSS in Zone 9 in Guatemala City was good. I
put on my suit and tie (in this way we are sure to get top level attention) and
drove them down to IGSS. Anita went in with them while I parked the car, and by
the time I had got back inside, the admitting clerk at emergency had given him a
number "34" and told him to wait his turn, which could be a long time. The
father had explained to the admitting clerk that the baby had just come off IV
at another clinic and that the other doctor had said this was an emergency.
"Fine, I understand", the clerk said, "Your number is still 34".
Worried that all the work we had done would be lost and that the baby would be
in terrible condition again if he had to wait around for hours, I asked to see
the supervisor. I showed my passport, indicating that I was with them, had
brought them and that we had a medical clinic and that this was a serious case.
Miraculously, they called us in three minutes, and several wonderful doctors
attended to the baby in the emergency ward, promising to do tests and workups
right away and let us know the results. Great! (Dear Reader, I know this sounds
once again like the Ugly American and it may be somewhat true. But, we barely
saved the baby's life two days before, and I wasn't about to have these parents
wait and watch the baby lapse. Besides, with these poor people from a rural
town, I don't know what care they might have received if we weren't right there
with her.)
So Far, So Good
Baby Edgar isn't totally healthy yet, but he's coming back stronger. He'll be in
the hospital several weeks. We're trying to find a lady to care for the five
children at home while the mom goes to the hospital to visit and the father goes
to work. At this hospital a parent doesn't have to stay full time. In fact, the
mother is allowed in only during feeding times every few hours and everyone else
can only visit from 2 pm to 3pm each day.
Note: Baby Edgar came home after four weeks, during which time the care
was so bad that Gregory made enough fuss so that he met with the Director of the
hospital, got the Head of Pediatrics to make special exceptions, and, was
influential in getting all the nurses in critical care changed to another ward.
Baby Edgar had only gained 2 pounds but the infection was gone and he was
stabile. We are continuing to provide special baby formula and he is slowly
gaining his weight back.
Oh, and the Problem with the Robbers
This family acts as guardians for the owner of a large vacant house and they
live in a little two-room shack of a house on the property's edge. It's common,
because no house should be left vacant here, ever. (At our house, we even have
guardians although we also have guard dogs, solid iron gratings on all the
windows, walls and a locked gate.)
Well, in talking to the mom we find out that the reason they have not a centavo
to their name, and no food in the house is because the owner is requiring them
to pay him for the loss he recently suffered. You see, when the mom was in the
hospital, the father went to visit and the children went to another person's
house for the day. That same day, robbers stole the washer, dryer and some other
things from the owner's big house.
The owner says that the guardians are responsible and must pay him back or he
will call the police; and he threatened them with the police, jail, theft and
other things. They aren't educated and don't realize that these threats aren’t
legal or true and that all the owner could do is fire them. But they are worried
about being arrested, losing this job, and losing little shack they live in. So
they have been paying most of the father's monthly paycheck for the last two
months to the owner! Meanwhile, the family has almost nothing to eat, and no
money for the mother's medicine that she needs to stay alive. And, no money to
take Baby Edgar to the hospital.
Sometimes Anita and I wonder at the cruelty of Guatemalans to their own people,
as in this case of a wealthy house owner to his poor guardian family - requiring
their meager earnings to be paid to him, knowing that they won't have food for
their children. They live in the tin roof guardian's shack that leaks a lot when
it rains, but he won't pay to fix that or buy new metal so that father could
install it. (Total cost would be about $40)
What to Do?
We're giving groceries to the family, vitamins and special food supplements. All
the children look undernourished and very small for their age. Only the one has
shoes, and their clothes are torn and ragged. The oldest is 11 years old, but
none of them go to school because the father said he didn't have the $4 that
they each needed to enroll and another $20 each to buy the needed school
supplies. So, none of the children are in school. He said he hopes he can get
the money together for next school year, which starts in January. But I doubt
it. (We’ll make sure that they do get enrolled, get shoes and clothes, and get
the school supplies they need.)
We constantly remind ourselves that we simply can't help people except within
the definition of our medical mission - medical care and medicine. But, really,
what else can we do but help this family who is living like worms a few miles
from our house? Sure, we did our medical thing by being there to help the baby
or he would have died that Monday night.
But the cycle will never be broken if those kids don't go to school, so we'll
have to make sure they get to school when the new school year starts in four
months. We've had to do that before, too, for some other very poor families we
met. We don't think there is another option – education is necessary for the
long term.
We’ll keep interacting with this family, with the knowledge that we won’t be
able to help them with all their needs for the long term. But we are glad for
that rainy afternoon when Anita stopped to help a lady she didn’t know.
Epilogue - November 2000
We've kept the family supplied with vitamins and baby formula. Baby Edgar has
pulled through fine and is a healthy 14 pounds and growing. Thank you so much to
those who donated money and items especially for this family. We've received
shoes and clothes, money for baby formula, and money to get them enrolled in
school and buy the school supplies. They kids are so excited to know that they
can go to school this year.
-end-
Hope this story wasn't too long. God has a way of reminding us never to complain
and to remember how blessed we are!!
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