Update on Baby Moses

On Tuesday I went to see Baby Moses in the hospital. His burn is not too severe but due to his frail health and small body, they will keep him there for awhile. He has an IV in his head through which he receives his pain medication. He had a good appetite and was eager to eat. Our main concern is to prevent infection from setting in. He is doing well considering the circumstances.

I always find it hard to enter the pediatric ward and see so many obviously sick children. Baby Moses is sharing a room with about 6 other children and their caregivers. One child had a head about twice the normal size. The surgical incision on the top of the head looked fairly recent.

This story of a baby girl was narrated to me in English although it was originally told in Hausa. The 3-week-old baby girl was lying on the bed and there was a lit charcoal pot in the room. (Charcoal pots are commonly used to provide heat during the cold periods and especially when there is a new baby because they don't want the baby to get cold.) The grandmother shoved it under the bed so the baby would be protected. Later the other grandmother came in the room, pulled out the charcoal pot, roasted her corn, and left. The baby's older sister, about 3 years old, came into the room and decided to carry the baby, and then accidentally dropped the baby on the coal pot. One arm was badly burned. They tried local village treatments for about 6 weeks before it became apparent that the child was not getting better. So they came to Jos, undoubtedly at great expense. The arm is twisted, and she will be undergoing surgery to try to straighten it.

I didn't find out the stories about the other children. That was enough for one day.