Story

Nourishing Little Princess

An elderly Haitian woman sits with a baby in her lap. The woman and baby sit in a chair in front of a wooden crib. The woman wears a green printed bandana over her head and a yellow short-sleeved top that has black and white stripes down the front. The baby wears a dark blue sweater and light blue pants.

Saint-Clemise, from Petit Goâve, Haiti, has been taking care of her granddaughter Princess after the baby’s mother passed away. By the time Princess was nine months old, Saint-Clemise noticed that “her legs were swollen, her belly was big, her whole body was peeling, her hair began to turn red, and she wasn’t breathing well.”

A young girl Haitian baby sits in her caregiver's lap. The baby has big, bright brown eyes and only a light dusting of light brown hair. She wears a dark blue sweater and sucks her thumb. Her caregiver's black and white striped shirt is seen to the left.

Saint-Clemise continues, “I had to run to Villa [Clinic] with her. The Villa ambulance brought me to the hospital [where] they received me at the emergency room and began caring for Princess. They had to put her on oxygen and insert a feeding tube. I spent two days at the ER and then they sent me to pediatrics.”

Dr. Florvil, from our pediatrics department, explains that Princess was diagnosed with malnutrition and a yeast infection of the skin. She spent over a month at the hospital before she was well enough to progress to the last phase of treatment. Now our community health team monitors and cares for Princess as an outpatient.

“I am happy because Princess eats, she has been healed of her illnesses, and she is starting to play. I am happy to return home with her,” says her grandmother.

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