Rainbow Families Foundation Newsletter - April 2008

April 2008

Jose Antonio (the boy who drank the bleach) has been having trouble swallowing, having to vomit his food. You may remember he was operated on five years ago in February. Dr. B used a part of his intestine for an esophogal transplant. We have been back and forth to Santo Domingo to see the surgeon and doing many tests. (Yesterday on the return trip the heavy rainfall in Santiago fooded the streets and downed many trees. Very difficult to see, taking 6 hours to return to the north coast.) This family is very poor and all of them are malnourished. I have been trying to help, buying beans, rice, powdered milk, bread, oatmeal, corn flakes and fruit. I am afraid if Jose Antonio needs another operation he will have to be hospitalized to build up his blood and strength to endure the surgery like last time. Remember he could only take liquids in his feeding tube so I was buying cases of PediaSure to build his strength and improve his blood. After a month he wasn’t improving. Dr. B and I thought the mother was giving the PediaSure to the other children. However, when he was hospitalized and still not responding to the PediaSure he was hospitalized a full month before Dr. B felt it safe to operate. We have another appointment with Dr. B when all the test results are done. Dr. B strongly encouraged that this family receive psychological counseling due to their dire living conditions and Jose Antonio’s situation. Last weekend I brought Jose Antonio and his sister to spend the weekend, trying to feed them everything they like. He was sick with diarrhea and didn’t feel well and didn’t respond to PeptoBismol. I took him to the emergency room. Dra. R ordered tests on his feces and urine. Had to take him back to the hospital on Monday since the lab was closed on Sunday. Sure enough his test came back with the “ameba” parasite, the worst parasite of all. He is on strong antibiotics for the next few days. Tomorrow I take two more of his siblings for testing since they all probably have the ameba parasite, passing it back and forth if they are not treated. Friday I return to Santo Domingo with Olga, the 27 year old mother who needs heart valve replacement. On our last visit 2 weeks ago Dr. T prescribed different meds and a strict diet. Hopefully her evaluation on Friday will be a positive one so she can be operated on in the adult program by the cardiologists who will be coming from the U.S. Neuri, the 10 month old who needs open heart surgery had a bad bout with the ameba parasite as well. He will be seen by the pediatric cardiologists when they come the end of this month.