Dear Father Bloom,
Thank you to you and all the wonderful generous people who have contributed so faithfully to Mary Bloom. Thanks to you, we have been able to provide service to over ll00 people seeking the services of our midwives, courses, and information re: the Billings Method, human dignity , drug abuse, prevention of STD's, family violence, and as well as sex education with the emphasis on human values. All this, since the second week of January!
To update you on some of the hospital patients, I believe I mentioned that Elsa went home in a new wheelchair, after six long months of loving attention by her husband Hipolito. Following a C-Section during which she arrested three times, her baby died, massive post-op infecction ensued and her prognosis at best, was a life-time in a Lima asylum. Without our help with the purchase of antibiotics and a wheelchair, she would not be home and learning to walk.
Gaspar, the man with cysts in his abdominal cavity, on his liver and on his lung, is now home after two successful operations on his liver and in his peritoneal cavity. In July, the surgeon hopes to remove the last one on his left lung. Please pray it does not rupture during surgery and disseminate to his brain. This third operation will cost upwards of 2 to 3,000 soles so they will need a great deal of help. He has a wife and three children.
The greatest excitement of all, of course, are our triplets, Jose, Juan and Ema Quispe. They first came to us a month ago at two months of age. Celia and Tomas now have ten children and the parents are only 38 yrs. old. The family was doing well until the arival of the triplets. Celia does not have enough breast milk so they are forced to buy expensive formula. They live in Crucero, some seven hours away at an altitude of 5,300 M. It is bitterly cold at night and I have nothing but admiration for Celia , feeding and changing these tiny infants every one and a half hours when the babies had no clothes, only blankets and rag diapers. The Vincentian sisters immediately provided two sacks of clothes for all the family, as you will see in the photos to follow. We provided formula for the babies and when I went to Bolivia, I found a good brand of vitamins and iron for the babies and Luz provided multivitamins for the mother and older children. The Sisters of Charity of Calcutta donated milk powder and cocoa for mom and the older kids. Mothers Day we went to Crucero to follow up on the family and the mother burst into tears. She had only a two day supply of formula bought on credit, and a handful of carrots and potatoes to feed herself and all ten children. Her husband had gone to the jungle to find work. We had a great time buying a 40 day supply of formula and enough vegetables,meat, fish, cheese, pasta etc. to feed the family until her husband returns for the run-off election. We shall follow their progress as the months go by. Celia is an outstanding mother. At two months of age, one babe weighed only l.l K.,the other l.8 and the other 2.2 Kilos. Imagine how tiny they must have been at birth and how very devoted the family is. We could see at three months, that they are progressing.
Thank you again father, to you and all your generous donors, for enabling us to provide this service.
Love, peace and joy from all of us at Mary Bloom.
Georgie Rea.
Pictures (March - April 2000)
Other Recent Fotos (Orphan Girls, etc.)