Gifty

I wish I had a picture, but yesterday a camera was the farthest thing from my mind. I got news of a little 14-month old girl at a nearby orphanage in desperate need of attention. I was told that she had yellowish eyes and bloated stomach, that she's been sick for a long time and that her mother just died. However, all of that couldn't prepare me for what I held in my arms an hour later.

She's a tiny one: she looks to me to be no more than 6 months old, but right away I could tell she's a fighter. Her belly was very soft and very swollen, full of air and fluid. Despite all that, though, she wasn't grumpy. She just looked at me with those yellow eyes, attentive but neither playful or sad.

Gifty is now admitted to a pediatric hospital and is getting the best care available. Though she's already showing signs of improvement, the doctors expect that she'll need to stay for 2-3 weeks of intensive re-feeding and monitoring. Please be praying with us that she will make a full recovery, and won't suffer any long-term effects of this. Please also pray for the caretakers that are staying with her 24 hours a day, sleeping on the hard cement floor beside her bed. I will try and post a photo if and when it's appropriate.