My day in Kenya

It is pouring rain and has been most of the day with lots of thunder to boot. No lightening.

I have been to feed the twins and they are doing so well. They are now on a feeding cup instead of the feeding tube and perhaps will go home on Friday. They do not use bottles in rural Kenya as it is too expensive. We feed the babies from a pliable rubber cup from which we slowly pour the formula into their tiny premie mouths. It is difficult at times to get them to swallow. I met the husband yesterday and he promised the nurse that he would be able to buy formula or "nan" as they call it each month. This is very expensive for them...6000 shillings or 83 dollars a month. If the babies go on cows' milk because the mother is not producing enough breast milk they will die. This has been a heartache for the neonatal nurse. She told me that she has been praying for a year for a solution to this problem. Just recently her prayer has been answered and a pediatrician has set up a "nan fund" here. Lena, the nurse(a fabulous, beautiful person) will administer it. She will give indigent moms a month's supply of nan, they will come back to have the babies' weighed at a month and then she will determine if they qualify for another month. when they are about 5 months and a certain weight they can go on cow's milk. Most families of any means have their own cow. This fund will always need more money and I think it would be a great cause for some of us in the states.

The mother I have been working with(Angeline) asked me today if I had another towel. By this I think that she meant she only had one blanket and two babies! Remember ultrasound is only used in emergencies here. So she brought only one blanket and now will have two babies going home to join their 7 brothers and sisters. I called Nairobi this morning and asked the driver to bring me two new baby blankets. I hope he is successful in finding them.

Fortunately people are beginning to be interested in family planning as a result of the community education that Tenwek is doing. The husband told me that "no more babies" because they did something to his wife! Incidently, she has had 3 sets of twins(one set died). Twins incidence is high here.

There is so much more to say....A Masai grandmother and grandfather asked me to pray with them this morning. Their daughter had an emergency section, is in the ICU, and the baby is very premature. They were the sweetest people......both with their identifying long ear lobes. Just like all parents and grandparents they were very concerned and upset.

I could go on and on but enough for today,
xoxo
mom and dad,
micki and marv