Rebecca

I (Jenny) would like to start telling you the stories of all of the children who are here at the shelter. I will begin with a baby girl that came earlier today. I was walking by the shelter and when I looked in I saw a tiny baby that I did not recognize. I went in and when I asked the caregivers about her they said that she had just arrived and they didn’t know anything about her. She was so tiny and frail, I guessed that she was probably a newborn. I found Janis and she told me that the baby’s name is Rebecca and she is 3 months old. Rebecca’s mother who had been very sick just died yesterday, and her father is an alcoholic who is in and out of prison. Rebecca has been in the care of a 19 year old uncle. I am not sure who brought her to us, but it was very obvious that the 19 year old was not capable of caring for a baby. Rebecca came to us dressed in a filthy outfit wrapped in a tattered baby blanket. The outfit looked like it used to be white, but it was so dirty that there were spots on it that were almost black. Her diaper was so full that it made the bottom part of her look twice as big as her top. When a child arrives at the shelter we take pictures of them before they are changed and bathed, and then more pictures are taken during their first bath here. I got to take the pictures of baby Rebecca today. I used the shelter camera, so I don’t have the pictures to post here. It took my breath away to see Rebecca with no clothing on. Rebecca is sick. She is very dehydrated and malnourished. Her skin just hangs from her bones. There are spots on her body where the skin is peeling off. When you are used to seeing healthy, happy, well cared for babies, it is shocking to see something like this. We have all seen the pictures of starving children on TV, but when you see it in person it becomes so much more real! Words cannot describe the feeling of seeing a baby suffering so much. She wanted to be held and screamed every time she was set down. But as soon as she was picked up and cuddled she settled down immediately. I went back to check on her later in the day and found her happily sucking her fingers in her crib, all clean and warm and in a pretty pink outfit. She was sucking the same 2 fingers that Kyler used to suck when he was a baby – the middle and ring fingers on the left hand. She looked so content and peaceful. The doctor came to see her and has put her on some medication, and Rebecca has kept several feedings down since she arrived. Please pray for tiny Rebecca, I will keep you updated on her progress.