Shanksteps #57 Aud
I WANT MY LAMB!
There are many causes of anemia in Africa, especially in kids. We often see kids come in repeatedly with anemia from malaria, so it wasn’t such a surprise to have this 4-year-old boy back in the hospital for the second time in 4 weeks. However, things were bizarre from the beginning. First of all, his father left his mother, so he was being raised by his father’s concubine (the children are property of the father.) Both the concubine and mother came in with the child. Because the child was living
with the father, the birth mother said that it was the responsibility of the father to provide blood. The father was in a town at least a day’s travel away. The concubine was the wrong blood type to give, as was one of the neighbors. So, we were left with a child, severely anemic, without someone to donate blood. We asked the mother how she would feel if the child died because she was unwilling to give blood. Again, she said that he was the father’s responsibility. In the end, his biological
mother got permission from her father to give blood to her own child. Throughout, the child said not one word.
He remained in the hospital for malaria treatment for several days. Four days after arriving, he was again severely anemic, having difficulty breathing and in need of another blood transfusion. This time the father was present and gave his blood. We started to wonder where he was losing blood. Was he bleeding from somewhere, perhaps internally? Nothing to suggest that was found. Was he breaking up his red blood cells? There was no evidence of this. Was he not making blood? This shouldn’t
show up that quickly after transfusion. Was he sequestering them in his spleen? This was a possibility because his spleen was enlarged. We changed his malaria medication with the thought that his malaria was resistant and the continued illness was causing hemolysis (breaking up of his blood cells). After 3 days he was doing well and was discharged. Still he wouldn’t talk.
He ended up staying at the hospital overnight after discharge for financial reasons, and when I went to see him the following morning, he was again severely anemic. UGH! I would have to try to find the cause later; right now he needed blood. EVERYONE in the family refused to give. The father said he would take him home to die. His rationale was, “When will the end, how long will we have to keep giving?” Although I agreed somewhat with his reasoning, I could not give up on this child. So,
I agreed to pay for the transfusion, and Greg gave his blood. Four transfusions in 5 weeks∑ Not a word was heard from the child’s mouth.
The next morning, when I went to check on him, he was playing and talking. When I asked him who I was, he said (in a very adult tone), “Oh you are the Nasara (white person) who has been taking care of me every day.” When I asked whom the nurse was next to me, he answered with her name and that she was a nurse at the hospital.
Finally I was privileged to hear the rest of the story. In this society, twins are VERY powerful (spiritually/magically). If someone in the family doesn’t do what a twin wants, strange things happen (usually to one of the twins). Often these manifestations are physical, so we see them sometimes at the hospital. We have seen children appear blind (no eye reaction whatsoever) until they are allowed to go home. We have seen kids unable to walk or talk until their needs/demands are met. I have
seen strange things in very small kids (2 years and under) that I can’t explain by simple childhood manipulation. Well, there is only one person in the world that has more power in a family than a twin, and that is the first child born after the twins. This particular 4 year old was one of these powerful children. Apparently his father had just bought a lamb for another child in the family∑and he wanted one too. That was when his illness and inability to talk began. The night before he got “better”
he had a long talk with his father and he agreed to sell what he had to buy a lamb for his 4-year-old. Once this agreement was completed, the child started talking again, and was restored to health. I had a talk with him before he went home and it was like talking to a wise old man, definitely not a four-year-old child. He promised that he would not become sick again because he had his lamb. I have seen him since, and he hasn’t been sick since discharge.
Some people will do almost anything to get what they want.
Satan has control of people’s minds and lives all over the world. Local beliefs in the supernatural are encouraged by experiences like this. Satan orchestrates situations to support their confidence in the spirits. If you don’t believe that Satan has power – come here and witness what he is doing firsthand. He works right out in the open. What happened to this child could have been entirely medical, or entirely spiritual, or as is usual, a bit of both. Please pray that we stay strong when confronted
with these situations, that we use them to lead the people here to the TRUTH.
Shanks
Hopital Adventiste de Koza
BP 53
Koza, Extreme Nord
Cameroon
Phone from USA 011-237-522-0278
email checked every 3-4 weeks in “town” missionsurgn@yahoo.com
website: www.missoindocs.org (to see needs list and view photos)
