Holding onto Faith

            Today might have been the longest day that I have had on the trip so far. After picking up Jackie from the airport and getting back to the hotel it ended up being very late. We only got about 4 hours of sleep before we had to take baby Faith to see the doctor. I woke up and got baby Faith ready for the day. As soon as we were ready I took her to get some breakfast so she would have energy for the big adventure ahead of us.

             First things first, we went to our doctor appointment. After a full examination, it turned out that Faith has an iron deficiency, and a tiny bit of asthma. I was really sad to hear that, but at the same time happy that we could find out the issue and solve the problem. Fixing those issues will greatly improve her health, which is all that matters to me. The doctor also mentioned that Faith's stomach looked bloated and she gave her a laxative and said it would work in about 30 minutest to an hour. The doctor then looked at Faith’s eye and said that we should go see a specialist. I got a little nervous when I heard that.  I have been really concerned about one of Faith’s eyes. It simply is not moving like it should be moving. The doctor said that she would have medicine for Faith as soon as we got back. So we had to quickly go to the eye doctor. In this case, desperate times call for desperate measures; we jumped on the back of a boda and drove to the eye doctor. (Welcome to Uganda J)

            On our way to the eye doctor we had to make a quick stop at the bank so that I could get some cash to the pay the doctor. Faith was strapped onto my chest while I began working at the ATM. Then all of a sudden Faith starts to whine a little bit, I look at her say, “What’s the matter baby, do you have to poop?” Then the bank security guard says, “Madam! Poop!” And she points to the massive explosion of poop that was all over me and all over the floor. It was a little bit chaotic. My friend Flavia grabbed baby Faith as I tried to clean the floor of the bank and myself. Then I went outside to check on them. Flavia had Faith bent over her knee and the diaper was off. She was trying to clean baby Faith up. She had that under control, so I went back to the bank to get my card back and get the money. While I was getting the card back I hear Flavia yelling, “AAHHH Paris!!!”  I ran outside to find that Faith had done another explosive poop, but with no diaper. The wall of the bank will never be the same. There was nothing I could do but LAUGH! Flavia and I both laughed so hard we cried! It was the funniest situation ever!

            After the eye doctor looked closely at baby Faith, he finally told us what would be best…SURGERY. Might heart broke for my sweet Faith. I was hoping that maybe she just needed glasses and we would get them and then just go on our way. This was not at all what I was hoping for.  As I held on tightly to baby Faith, I tried hard to fight back tears. I needed to be strong for Faith. I was so sad for Baby Faith. The thought of her on an operating table made my heart break, but I also want her to live a happy and healthy life.

            After that news, and many hours of traveling all around Kampala trying to find the best care for Baby Faith, we finally started our journey back to Tororo. The journey seemed extra long this time as my mind was full of questions, thoughts, and ideas. I am happy that I had Jackie, Flavia, Pastor Ruth and Patience were with me on the drive. They kept me laughing constantly. At about 10pm we finally reached Smile Africa. We then were able to drop the babies off at City of Lights Baby Home so they could have a good night sleep. I went to bed praying for Baby Faith. 

"God, please be with Baby Faith. Please help her grow and be healthy and strong. Please protect her as she sleeps. Please guides us to make the right decision in order to best help Faith. I love you! Amen."