It’s Sunday night, 8 pm and I’m sitting inside the emergency room at a hospital here in Rustenburg. One of the babies from the shelter has gotten sick and Ria (a volunteer at the shelter) has asked me to come along with her to help. The baby, Gomotsegang, is almost 2 years old but has the body frame of a child younger than 1. As I hold her in the car and we drive to the hospital Ria tells me that this baby girl in my arms has full-blown HIV-AIDS and TB. The 2 of these combined slows the growth process. Gomotsegang is just now sitting up by herself and cannot walk or speak any words. Ria says that they (at the shelter) lose a lot of babies at this age because their bodies cannot fight off normal sicknesses due to the AIDS.
When we arrive at the ER they immediately take her back. Her oxygen level is supposed to be higher than 95 and at its lowest was at 79. She is gasping for air while they begin to poke and prick in order to give shots, hook up her IV, start a breathing treatment, etc. She is the sweetest little girl…long eyelashes, bright eyes and a gorgeous smile. She becomes more stable as the oxygen helps her stats rise. The doctor begins to ask about the whereabouts of her parents. Ria explains to him that her mother has left no way of contacting her and the telephone number left from the father was no longer in service. We did contact the fathers work and they said they would pass along the information. The police brought Gomotsegang to the shelter about a year ago late on a Friday night. Her mother is drinking heavily and cannot care for her.
I plan on staying with her for the next few days in the hospital. My team will be working on a really cool project planting some vegetable gardens, but I feel like this is what I should do. They have another lady staying with her at night…so I’ll stay during the days. Her hospital room is filled with 2 other children, along with their mothers. It hurts my heart to know this baby is here alone, that her parents left no way of contacting them and that they are clueless she is even here. (
Today (Monday), her father came to visit. He stayed for about 10 minutes.)
Pray for this little Gomotsegang…that her little body will be healed.
