A Mother’s Last Hope
Little Boy Finds Lifesaving Help at Mother of Mercy
How far will a mother go to find help for her child?
When Salah’s mother noticed her three year-old boy was losing weight, she felt a wave of dread rising up from the pit of her stomach.
In the Nuba Mountains these days famine is everywhere. She knew it was only a matter of time until it would hit their family. But infants and small children don’t have the strength and endurance in famine that an adult has. Children are far more vulnerable to the debilitating effects of malnutrition, and their decline happens faster.
What’s more, babies and toddlers stricken with malnourishment can suffer lasting effects, including stunted growth and mental development that remains with them throughout their life. The lack of nourishment weakens their immune system and makes them more vulnerable to sickness and disease.
Salah’s mother doubled down on her efforts to find food. But you can’t find what isn’t there. All over Nuba children can be seen with telltale protruding stomachs – a dangerous sign of malnourishment often caused by severe protein deficiency and edema. Parents have been scrambling to find leaves, bugs, or any potential source they can feed their children to fight the gnawing famine that blankets the region.
Salah’s mother took him to the local clinic, but she found no help there. Feeling helpless, she wondered what she could do beyond watching her tiny toddler grow weaker by the day. There was one place of hope she knew of. But it was far away. How would she get Salah there? Could he survive if she didn’t go?
Mother of Mercy Hospital is the only referral hospital open in the Nuba Mountains known as Gidel. With the ongoing war roaring across Sudan, most hospitals have closed, most commerce has stopped. But Mother of Mercy’s doors remain open, offering hope to people who come for miles and days to reach this place. Word has spread of Dr. Tom Catena, whose name is legendary in the region for the tireless medical help he and his team provide. For many, it is their last hope.
For three days, Salah’s mother traveled with him in the back of a tuk tuk – similar to a motorized rickshaw cart – across nearly impassable “roads” to reach this outpost of hope. She wondered if she would find help here for her toddler son like so many had spoken of. She had nowhere left to go, and time was running out.
When Salah arrived, he was immediately taken for treatment. Tests discovered that not only was the little boy severely malnourished, his body was also suffering from a bombardment of ailments that included anemia, malaria, and tuberculosis. The fact that he was still alive was his first miracle. He still needed another to survive.
Salah began receiving malaria treatment immediately. He also started a protocol to treat the tuberculosis. To strengthen his weak little body, Salah was given therapeutic milk for acute malnutrition. His mother was grateful beyond words to find treatment for Salah. Now all she could do was wait.
The three-year-old boy was a fighter. With the strength he received from nourishment, antimalarials, and tuberculosis medicine, Salah slowly began to stabilize. Soon he was transferred from therapeutic milk to Plumpy’Nut – a ready-to-eat food paste specially designed to treat recovering malnourished children. It was a big step. Now he was well enough to eat.
Today Salah is gaining strength and improving steadily. His prognosis is for full recovery. Hope did not disappoint for Salah’s mother. This was indeed a place of help and healing. Because of a dedicated doctor and his team. And because of donors and partners whose support keeps the only hospital for hundreds of miles stocked with the medicine it needs to save lives.
These stories of lives saved are made possible because of generous donors who partner with us to support Mother of Mercy Hospital, where in 2024 more than 300,000 people received treatment across the Nuba Mountains. Thank you for helping to save lives like young Salah’s and so many others.
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