Yesterday Lucael was utterly miserable. Maybe my few minutes of
baby-rocking and off-key singing comforted him a little after his
surgery; I know my prayers touched his spirit. But this wee mite was
very unhappy that he could no longer suck on his fingers through his
bilateral clefts, and his mouth just hurt. His stoic GreatGrandMother
was in tears over his discomfort, and overwhelmed that her wee man’s
congenital deformity is gone forever. Their story is mind-bending.
It was a shock to Lucael’s 14 year-old mother when her baby boy was
born with such a frightening looking mouth. But Lucael’s appearance was
only the tip of the iceberg; the large cleft in the roof of his mouth
was a threat to his very life as it prevented him from successfully
breastfeeding. She had given birth in a hospital and the doctor assured
the young teenager the baby’s condition could be fixed. The
devastating news was they would have to go elsewhere and pay a huge
amount of money for the operations. The impossibility of the situation
was crushing.
While the people in Lucael’s village had heard about babies being
born like this, but no one had ever witnessed it. Their suspicion grew
into unkindness towards the struggling family.
Lucael’s young mother simply couldn’t cope, so GrandMother stepped in
to care for the tiny infant. Lucael’s Mum worked to help pay for milk
for the baby. With baby formula costing at least 4 days wages for the
average Malagasy, this impoverished family did what most resort to. They
spent almost 1 day’s pay on a can on sweetened condensed milk, and
diluted it to feed the newborn over the week ahead. The substitute
didn’t nourish his tiny body. Lucael simply failed to thrive.
A visit by the mid-wife gave them a glimmer of hope; she heard some
people who could provide the surgery Lucael needed for free, were coming
on a hospital ship to Madagascar. She finally found a patient screening
location within travelling distance of their remote village in the
rugged north of Madagascar.
By this stage Lucael’s care had passed to his tiny 78-year-old GreatGrandMother, who loves him will all her heart.
At 10 months and weighing just 4 kg (8.5 lbs), Lucael was flown with
his GreatGrandMother to the coast. Together they entered the infant
feeding programme that saved his life.
In 3 months Lucael had reached 6.5 kg (14.3 lbs) – enough weight to
undergo surgery. As they were admitted to the Mercy Ships ward
GreatGrandMother told me, “I feel so positive about it. My heart is
beating fast! First they said they could only do his lip, but yesterday they told me that can fix his palate too!”
So right now, Lucael is 3 decks below me, receiving the best care that money can’t buy.
Did I mention that GreatGrandMother’s Mum lives with them in the
village too? There is remarkable, multi-generational mothers’ love
waiting to receive this sweet baby home; restored, and gifted with a new
future.
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