Update on Ida

Brother Chuck Miller gave the money that was needed for Ida’s eye exam. Thandie first took Ida to Dr. Innocent who is the pediatrician who sees the Good Samaritan children. Dr. Innocent examined Ida and found her to be blind. He had his colleague write a recommendation for her to be seen at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Thandie then transported Ida to Queen’s where she was examined again. They ended up not charging us for the exam which was a huge blessing. The doctor drew a diagram of little circles in Ida’s eyes. I am assuming that these are blood clots. The doctor told Thandie that they would have performed surgery today, but because it seems that the nerves are affected, they want a specialist to review her case tomorrow. Ida was then admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and placed on the surgery consult list for tomorrow (Wed 7/2/08).

I’ve done a bit of research on AIDS related eye problems and have found that blood clots in the eyes effect 75% of those with AIDS. If the blood clots are not treated promptly it will lead to nerve damage. When the nerve damage is severe, the eye sight may not be restored.

Thandie told me that the hospital is so crowded that they gave Ida a mattress to sleep on that was under another patient’s bed. She was going to have to spend the night underneath another sick patient. Thandie was persistent and God opened the door for Ida to have a bed. The bed is near the bathroom and has an extremely foul odor, but she is not on the floor. I talked to Miss Vickie today and she said that the scene at the hospital was worse than horrible.

We also received the results of Ida’s June CD4 count. This count measures the HIV viral load in Ida’s body. The count is very good. It is not dangerously low, which we were expecting to see. Please pray for God’s healing for Ida. Please pray that the doctors will have mercy on her and not push her to the side thinking that her condition is too hopeless to treat. Please also be in prayer for our staffing situation as we are required to provide a staff at the hospital for Ida as long as she is admitted. We had to layoff most of our caregivers, we don’t have an extra caregiver to spare. Thank you for your prayers!