It was the second full day of our trip. I was still a little jet lagged and wondering how I was going to make it thru the day. We arrived at Ekubo ministires and were asked to go and assess a 5 day old who had what they thought was an infected umbilical cord. This little baby, who was named Joseph, had been abdandoned by his mother on day of life 2. The people at Ekubo ministires took him in. We had no birth history and no information on the mother.

There were 2 of us on the team that were NICU nurses. We walked down the road to the Baby House and met Baby Joseph. My heart sank when I saw him. He was so scrawny and malnourished.  He was a dusky, pale color. His abdomen was distended and I could see loops of bowel. His eye was infected. His fontanel was sunken. He threw up every time he was fed. When I looked over his little body, I thought that he might not survive. 

We all agreed that he needed to be taken to the hospital. The free hospital or clinic did not do IV fluids. He was going to need IV fluids so he needed to be taken to a hospital further away near Kampala and his medical bill would have to be paid for him to be treated.

The NICU nurse in me starting thinking through what I would anticipate a baby this sick needing on admission. He would need an isolette, lots of bloodwork, IV fluids, xrays, antibiotics, a replogle and possibly some other kind of upper gi testing to determine why he was vomiting. I had no idea if stuff like that was available in Uganda. I assumed, after asking questions to local people there, that it was not.

They got Joseph ready to go to the hospital. Our team put our hands on this sweet baby and prayed that God would heal him. Without all the advancements of western medicine available to him, I worried while the others continued to pray. As they drove off in the van, I struggled. I felt so helpless. I knew what to do. I knew what he needed to survive, but we didnt have the resources and supplies he needed. I wished so bad that I could scoop him up and take him to the NICU where I work. I wasn't even able to go to the hospital with him so it was hard to watch them drive off.  Perhaps my knowledge of neonatal medicine caused me to doubt that Jesus alone was capable of healing. 

Joseph was admitted to the hospital and they were asked to pay 435 dollars for his admission. I watched as God provided that money. He stayed in the hospital less than a week and then came home when he was still not fully recovered.

 I saw this picture below of him this morning and it took me back to that day of standing outside the van and wondering if he would make it. Yes, there was a lack of resources available to him. He did not receive treatment that any medical person in America would say was adequate. But, today is he doing well. 

Joseph taught me something. In America, we run to modern medicine for healing. In Uganda, they run to Jesus in prayer. And I have seen that He is capable of healing. I don't want this to be taken the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with modern medicine and I am so thankful for the availability of healthcare in this country, but I was convicted by my lack of faith. I pray for the sick, but do I pray in belief that Jesus alone can heal?  Do I pray with belief that He is enough? He is more powerful to heal than any blood test, iv antibiotic, xray etc. Do I live like I believe that?  Sometimes as a medical person, I lose sight of that. 

Baby Joseph reminded me to take everything to Him in prayer. I want to run to Jesus before I run to things of this world. I want to live in full belief that He is mighty to save and mighty to heal. 

Thank you Jesus for healing Baby Jospeh.

-Because Joseph is in foster care, I can not post pictures of his face. But this picture of his belly shows the difference in him in a few weeks time.