Seeing their child sick is one of the most difficult experiences parents face. There is very little you can do once your child is in the hands of doctors, or in the case of families in rural Nicaragua you help us serve, in the hands of Health Promoters. Parents hope for the best and pray for God to grant wisdom to the person that is treating their child.
This is a scenario that repeats day after day in the vulnerable communities we serve together. However, it is thanks to you that Health Promoters are trained and have the medicines they need to treat common illnesses in their own communities. Thanks to you, parents know their kids are being cared for and are in good hands.
In a recent interview, Ada Luz Montenegro, Health Promoter in the rural community of Apantillo, shared with us the story of a young boy who was pretty sick.
“I was able to help little Raul, a 2-year old boy who lives nearby,” starts Ada Luz. “He was pretty sick. His mother called me because he had a fever.”
“He was breathing heavily, and as he struggled to breathe, I could hear him wheezing. I urged his mom to take him to the health unit to rule out dengue or malaria because the fever was persistent. The mother did but was told that he had just a cold. They didn’t give them any medicine.
She came back to me worried because Raul was still very sick. I called the health unit because I knew that was not a common cold. They told me he had a mild pneumonia but they didn’t have any medicines for him there.
Thanks to God, we had medicines at the community clinic and I was able to treat him with amoxicillin, salbutamol, and paracetamol. I visited Raul at home to check on him and fortunately, he recovered.
Raul’s mom is so grateful. You wouldn’t believe her smile to see Raul playing with his three siblings. Her family is very poor and she told me she did not have enough money to take him to the hospital. Without your incredible support, the lives of Raul and many other children in the community would be at risk.“
