Goodbye Teresita

Today was a day mixed with sadness and relief as one of FHC's children, Teresa, died today. Poor little Teresa (or Teresita, "Little Teresa," as she was called by her tias) lived only to be six months old. She went to be in paradise with her heavenly father early this morning after spending the last two months in a children's hospital here in Quito.

Teresa was one of the first babies that I got a chance to work with. Teresa's biological mother was very young and "fell down some stairs" causing her to go prematurely into labor when she was still only about 7 and a 1/2 months pregnant. I used parenthesis for "fell down" because there is some debate over whether or not the mother purposely tried to do something to end her pregnancy early. Shortly after Theresa was born, weighing only 3 pounds, her mother abandoned her at the hospital. So as a result, Teresa was born with many problems. For starters, she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (excess fluid in the brain), and sepsis (an immune system response to an infection, causing severe inflammation, faster breathing, faster heart rate, and a higher body temperature). Teresa spent the first three weeks of her life in intensive care and was brought to FHC needing 24-hour supplemental oxygen and a feeding tube.

In my first month at FHC, I accompanied Teresa and her tias on many doctor's visits. It seemed like if Teresa wasn't sleeping or eating she was going to the doctors. She was still on supplemental oxygen but started to be able to eat from a bottle. She was a sweet baby girl who loved to be held. We had high hopes for her until about a month and half-ago when she developed pneumonia and had to be taken to the hospital again. We didn't get to visit her in the hospital, but we felt comfortable knowing that FHC sent a tia to be with her 24 hours a day while she was there. This is why I wrote in the first sentence that is Teresa's death comes as sadness and as a relief, in that she had suffered so much for someone so who lived such a short time.

Teresita's little body is being kept at FHC today and tomorrow for her memorial service. I had the strange experience of unexpectedly walking into the room where they are keeping her body. I've seen the dead body of my grandma at her viewing service, but I've never seen a dead baby before. It was so sad and surreal at the same time. What struck me were her tiny little eyelashes. She looked like a little sleeping doll, except that Teresa had long, beautiful eyelashes that you could tell were real.

So that is Teresa's story. I felt that someone should tell it in honor of her memory. At least I know that while she was a FHC, she was given the best care available by the tias here. I know nothing can compare to a mother's love but the tias tried their very best to love that little girl. Please pray for these tias when you think of them because Teresa’s death is difficult for them right now, and rejoice that this little girl has now gone home to a place where she will suffer no more.