At Mercy Beyond Borders, we design our programs around our three core values and principles: Academic Excellence, Personal Integrity, and Compassionate Action. We strongly believe in paying it forward, which is why all of the Scholars in our programs in both Haiti and East Africa participate in volunteer hours where they give back to their communities. It’s a key piece of our Scholarship program, and one we can’t emphasize enough.
While in Haiti our primary programming is our academic scholarship program, in September of 2017, we launched a Women’s Advice and Referral Clinic thanks to funding made available to us by Dignity Health. While the clinic is staffed by an American nurse practitioner, fluent in Haitian Creole, we really focus on education and brokering of services to those who pass through the door.
Ruth’s story, however, was a bit different. As I was driving through downtown Gros-Morne one morning after having been at the bank, I couldn’t help but notice this adorable little one playing innocently on the front porch of a very modest home. She was smiling — even laughing — but the large mass that sat squarely in the center of her face, protruding out in a bubble-like fashion is what I noticed the most.
At first, I didn’t think to stop. Having gone about a block further down the road, something inside of me said to turn around and go back. So, I did. I got out of the car and asked for the mom or dad of the child. I wanted to know more about her story and, more importantly, what, if anything, the family was doing to try to correct this problem.
I learned that Baby Ruth was born with an abnormality called an encephalocele, or, more specifically, a frontal encephalocele. Baby Ruth’s frontal lobe was actually protruding through her skull, from directly in between her eyes. While most of these bubbles contain fluids, Ruth’s was primarily her actual brain. Any sort of injury to this bubble would result most likely in death, as the only thing standing between the world and her brain was quite literally just her skin.
A delicate surgery, Ruth’s family had sought assistance in one of Port-au-Prince’s best hospitals. While there are no permanent pediatric neurosurgeons in Haiti, visiting medical specialists from the United States and Canada do come somewhat regularly, and so the family was added to the already extensive waiting list. As cases are scheduled based on urgency, Ruth’s life-saving schedule was in fact scheduled and rescheduled 3 separate times. Lacking the funds to continue to make the 8 hour round-trip journey to Port-au-Prince, the family decided to leave things in God’s hands and hope for the best…
Upon learning this, I decided it was time for me and Mercy Beyond Borders to get involved. We brought Baby Ruth to Brittany for a consultation and for a review of existing medical diagnostics and exams. She agreed the best option for Baby Ruth would be to get to the United States for surgery — and soon. The mass had gotten larger very quickly, and had started to affect her vision. As one can imagine, Ruth pulled at the mass almost constantly, increasing the likelihood of a traumatic injury to her brain — with who knows what kind of consequence as a result.
So, we got the ball rolling in trying to find a hospital willing to accept her case on a pro-bono basis. After a short search, we were blessed to learn that Miami Baptist Hospital agreed to take on her case free of charge! We were also blessed to learn how Child Foundation would host mom and Baby Ruth in Miami and provide her with an apartment, a telephone, and even weekly spending money for food and other items they may need while abroad.
With this news, I started the process of obtaining passports and medical visas for travel purposes. Using funds from Dignity Health and from a private fundraiser I launched on social media, we were able to secure all of these documents in just under a month! Approved for medical visas on Thursday, March 9, mom and Baby Ruth flew up to Miami while I traveled back to Haiti from our 10th Anniversary Gala in California on Tuesday March 13, 2018.
Surgery happened on Monday of this week. Baby Ruth endured 16 hours of delicate brain surgery. She has spent two full days in the ICU and just today was transferred to the pediatric unit at Miami Baptist. We are so grateful to Dignity Health and our friends and donors who supported this cause, as well as the folks in Miami who received her case and are caring for the family and their needs while they are in the US.
I plan to travel up to Miami in the next few weeks to see Baby Ruth myself. We appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery. And we’re so thrilled that this baby girl’s life has been changed for the better.
We are looking about 6 weeks to heal and return to Haiti! We know this little miracle will bring lots of joy to the world ~ and will have a long and healthy life thanks to the compassionate work of MBB and their partners! Mèsi anpil!