Liberia's Winnifred

We just got back from Liberia on Monday. I have been fighting fatigue and malaria since coming home and hope to do more posting to catch everyone up on our trip. So much happened and so much to share.

This is Winnifred whom we brought home on a medical visa. We understood her to have hydrocephalus. Her parents Alfred and Felisha love her dearly and did a wonderful job of advocating for care for her in Liberia. Unfortunately there isnt anything in Liberia to help her. We met her through Pst Peter who then contacted us. You will not believe what we had to do to get this child cleared to leave Liberia for medical intervention. More on that later...

Winnifred with her parents and Pst Peter.

This is the team who escorted her home. Two nurses involved in her care as well as two helpers.

The Delta flight crew was amazing and so helpful. They felt privileged to be able to help in anyway possible. Leslie and Denise did an AWESOME job of caring for her most of the way. I told them I was her case worker so handled all the paperwork and immigration. Which was a chore in itself but I couldn't handle baby puke on a plane either. haha

And this is her wonderful host father- Kevin- who met us at the airport. We were all amazed that a dad like him would come on his own for her and you could tell he loved her unconditionally through all they were about to undertake.

As it turns out Winnifred barely made it to Utah where they lived. She was slipping in and out of consciousness and would stop breathing. She was immediately admitted and put on a ventilator and they put a tube into the top of her head to relive some of the pressure. It was discovered that she has Dandy Walker Syndrome which caused her hydrocephalus. This is not a very treatable syndrome. Decisions had to be made on what to do to give her the best quality of life of her short time she had left. Doctors stated they didnt expect she could even survive the surgery.
She has a wonderful team of doctors and her neurosurgeon worked on children similar to hers in third world countries.

However...today we have learned that she will not survive. She is too far gone. She stopped breathing with no pulse and then came back. Her seizures are gone and she is no longer agitated and in pain. She is non responsive to touch. There is nothing more anyone can do. Winnifred is dying.

The host family has asked to take her home and love on her what short time she has left. They shared with me that "despite all of this, the spirit is so strong in our hospital room. There is peace and love and God. We were praying for a miracle but have come to realize that the miracle is being in the presence of such a noble spirit. It is a privileged and an honor to escort her back home to her father."

Words cannot even express how grateful we are for her host family and their courage they have to undertake such a painful privilege. So many have advocated and helped with her journey home. For that we all feel privileged to have been a part.

We know that her impending death will not be in vain. That there are many children like Winnifred who are dying at the chance to have what Winnifred has. A chance at life through medical intervention. We will continue on.

(please be in special prayer for Winnifred's host family and her birth family during this hard time)