Heartbreak of Haitian Living

We so often get to share with you the wonderful things God is doing through Lifeline in Haiti, but we have been reminded of the harsh reality that people die here every day. As bad as it hurts, there are some people we just can’t reach. Here is Velricka's sad story:

By Guest Blogger: Laura Morris
I was following the doctor around the clinic at Lifeline for the morning. As he was examining an older woman, the nurse called for him to look at a child in the waiting room. When I entered the room, I saw a little girl who was about 1 year old. She was in her mother’s arms, trying to gasp for breath. She was crying and this was making it harder for her to breathe. She looked at me with panic stricken eyes. Her lungs were very congested and the doctor tried to use an inhaler to help her breathe. Unfortunately, this did not help. The doctor spoke directly to the mother and she picked the girl up and left the clinic. I could not understand the language and quickly asked the doctor what had happened. He explained that the girl needed oxygen to her lungs because she had a horrible case of croup cough. I asked him where they were going to take her and he said the closest clinic with oxygen was about an hour away. There was nothing left to do but send the child away and hope that she endured the trip to the clinic.
That evening, we started hearing whaling and screaming in the village. The little girl had not survived the trip. She had passed away. The family mourned their loss for hours. In the middle of the night, we could hear them hammering the nails in her casket.
The only thing that brings me comfort when remembering her beautiful face is the knowledge that she is now with Christ and can finally breathe freely.

We can’t help but feel frustrated, responsible, helpless and angry that we didn’t have the medical supplies that no doubt would have saved her life. We just couldn’t help this baby in time and she lost her life because of it. Velricka is not some little girl we have never met – some of you might have even seen her before. She was Nono’s niece (he is the man who works for Lifeline delivering the food to the feeding stations) and Licienne's granddaughter (she is one of Lifeline's cooks). She lived right here in La Digue very close to the mission fence - she was just feet away and we lost her!
Please pray that this mother, Nadine, and the whole family would find comfort at this horrible time and that somehow Mission Lifeline could be an even greater life line to this community.