One tiny bundle of blessed joy!  Melissa!  She was so beautiful and had definitely filled out from the skin and bones she had been.  You judge for yourself.

1st Day with Melissa

5 months later

 But, she is definitely still very small for her age.  She has developed as well being able to now do 4 month old and some 6 month old gross motor skills.  She can rollover but usually tires easily from that.  She also sleeps A LOT.  Likely from the extra work her body has to do with her heart. 

It was beautiful to see her bond with Wilna and Stanley who take care of her now.  I'm realistic enough to realize that she wouldn't know me when I came this time.  But, I came armed with a talking photo album with messages from her blanc (white) family and pictures.  It is good to know that she is bonding and feeling loved when we can't be here.  Thank you Wilna and Stanley.

We spent the first night re-learning each other and again, my heart was full.

The next day was full of hurry up and wait and bouncing around Port au Prince.  I traveled with Michelle to take a child who is a candidate for heart surgery to get an echocardiogram.  This beautiful little girl was named Kathleen.  She was 2 years old.  As I checked her in the truck, her oxygen level registered 68%.   This would explain the blue lips and clubbed fingers for sure.  After much searching and pleading, we found a physician who would do the echo but he couldn't see her for another 2-3 hrs.  We headed back to Petitionville and 2 Domino's pizzas later we went back and got this little one's echo. 

She was found to have a large ventricular septal defect which blessedly is very repairable.  Through the new program with Chadasha Foundation and Internation Childrens' Heart Foundation, the Lord will provide for her medical healing.  What a blessing.

It was Melissa's 1st birthday so we rushed back to Petitionville (ha ha, I said rushed through Haiti traffic) and picked up the gorgeous cake for her.  We were ready to head back to the guest house and PARTY.  Melissa's birth Mom was waiting for us when we returned for the party and the blessings would not only be for Melissa, but for us all....