Hector Daniel

The first time I saw Hector was at church. He was a really sick looking baby. He was ashen gray and did not move much at all. He also smelled of vomit and urine. Anita had informed Jenni of this baby and they went out to visit it the following Sunday. Jenni came back later saying the baby was really malnurished.

That same night the whole family of the baby, mostly aunts, came to hand the baby over to us so we could care for him. While they were there we found out they were feeding this 4 month old baby cows milk, flour with water, tea, and I saw them give the baby a bottle after giving it to the monkey. Basically, they were trying to keep it alive on whatever they could. The mom of Hector got really sick and was unable to care for the baby. So the aunts and uncles were looking after it. Unfortunately, nobody has proper money to care for the baby.

Jenni took him to the hospital that night. The baby got amitted with severe dehydration and malnutrition. I don´t remember how long he was there, but we were all having to take turns to stay with the baby. The nurses don´t really do much but give the medicines. So usually the mom stays and cares for the baby.

When my turn came to care for the baby i was all nervous. I had never really been around babies too much. Well, this was a good crash course. Hector was started to get some strength back when I took care of him. He was following me with his eyes and eating fairly often. He was so precious and just melted my heart with his big brown eyes.

He got discharged a few days later. We were going to keep him until he got stronger and the mom got stronger. But the baby got sick again. This time he had pneumonia. I don´t remember if he was admitted or not to the hospital, I think he was. However, many of the antibiotics weren´t working. They finally put him on a combination of vancomycin and something else. The poor thing was having trouble eating and would get so frusterated. However, he seemed to be doing better after a bit.

Not too soon after, Hector started to go downhill. He wasn´t eating well and having abnormal breathing patterns. After another trip to the doctor the test results came back that Hector was HIV positive. He was soon started on retrovirals to slow down the virus. This last Sabbath, the same day he started his HIV treatment, we were all with him and he started to have trouble breathing. He couldn´t get any air and was turning blue. He was then taken back to the hospital. The news came back that little baby Hector was dying.

We are not sure how many days this precious child has left. We are all very saddened by this news. It is really sick how sin has plagued this world. Even the most innocent of babies can´t go unscathed. I pray that God´s will be done in the life of Hector Daniel and that he feel no pain or discomfort.

I ask all who read this to pray for the family of Hector. There is a lot of sadness coming there way. Turns out the mother of Hector has full blown AIDS with a possible TB. Her husband and two other little boys are going to get tested today.

After experiencing all this tragedy I cling to the thought that Jesus is coming soon. Soon there will be no more tear, illnesses, death. Only a forever of happiness with those we love and especially con our Lord and Saviour.