Nmembe
Little Nmembe is has been in the hospital the past two weeks, suffering from HIV, malnutrition, diarrhea, and generally misery. She had already spent a week in the hospital in December, went home to her village, and returned just 10 days later, sick again. She has slowly been improving, but yesterday her mother became quite sick herself and had to be hospitalized, leaving no one to care for Nmembe.
So now Nmembe is temporarily with us. She’s six months old and weighs ten pounds, less than our three-week-old grandson Ethan. She’s rather passive and solemn. On the good side, she takes formula eagerly. She’s been vomiting, though, so we’re having to give the formula just a bit at a time — she doesn’t like that. She has not started taking antiretroviral drugs yet, but I think it’s time to start.
We don’t know how long we’ll be caring for Nmembe. Hopefully, her mother will be well soon. Even then, though, it might be good for us to care for the girl for a few weeks until she is well on the way to recovery. The family lives several hours away, and sending this fragile baby back to a distant village may not be a good idea.