Praises

19 month old Praises was brought to the hospital by her mother 10 days ago.  She had been ill for the prior one week with fever and diarrhea.  She spent several days in a small Health Center and they reported that she had vomited up a tapeworm but despite their treatments she showed no improvement.  She was very ill and lethargic on arrival.  All of her tests failed to reveal what was wrong with her.  She passed blood in her stool for several days last week  and she remained as limp as a doll.  Over the last couple of days Praises has become more responsive and even called for her mother for the first time this morning.  Our limited diagnostics can be frustrating with cases like this.  We keep her in our daily prayers and are hopeful that we will see see more shine in her eyes each day.



Dr. Ed with his soft touch



Dr. Ed Malphus arrived here this week. Ed is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist from Santa Monica, California. He has been involved with MDA for 20 years including serving as Board President for many years. This is his first opportunity to serve overseas and he has jumped into the work with both feet. He has already seen multiple cases of malaria, TB and HIV in his first 2 days. It is nice having someone here with his expertise on Pediatric and GI problems. I am looking forward to working with Ed for the next month.

Praises and his Mom

Today, I had the opportunity to meet Praises and his mother. Praises is a 4 year old boy who has been on HIV medications for 2 years. He came in for a medication refill. He is doing very well and is having absolutely no medical problems. It is a real joy to see the number of people doing well with this terrible disease.