Dieu-donné

November 23rd, 2008

Dieu-donné, meaning “Given by God”, is just five. This little guy is brave. Every time I walk past his tiny bed and ask him how he’s feeling “abakuru” he sits up and says “mesa” which means good.

But he’s not doing well. He’s been admitted to our feeding centre and is getting antibiotics to reduce his fever. However, he’s not gaining weight and the fever stays high. His arms and legs dangle like sticks attached to his chest. His ribs expand and contract at great speed because of his laboured breathing.

After days of breathing problems, we decide to start treating him for tuberculosis (TB). The ongoing fever, his inability to put on weight and the fact that his neighbour in the refugee camp had TB make us think that Dieu-donné’s lungs have been damaged by this disease as well. Dieu-donné is becoming exhausted and we have to start him on oxygen to help him keep going.

For three days, the hospital’s generator works constantly to power the machine that keeps our brave little boy supplied with oxygen. Then the logistician comes to me with an anxious look on his face. The hospital’s generator really has to cool down. Otherwise, we risk killing it. However, we can’t stop giving oxygen. Every time we try to do that the amount of oxygen getting into little Dieu-donné drops dangerously low within a few minutes. We discuss the options with the team. Together we decide to make a sacrifice. We move our newly set-up electrical system to the hospital. It’s comprised of a generator and rechargable batteries. It provides us with light at night and electricity to run the computer. So the house is now dark starting at 6:00 pm and we bathe and eat once again by candlelight.

Dieu-donné still says “mesa” to me but he no longer sits up. With an oxygen mask on his face he stays lying down in bed. Despite the oxygen, his chest continues to rise and fall quickly and he seems to be getting smaller in his bed.

On Monday morning, I suddenly see that his bed is empty. This last difficult night proved to be too much for this tough little boy.

The lights in our house don’t go back on that evening. In the meantime, there are now two other little children in need of oxygen.

Tags: Logistics, Medical