Helping improve lives, One child at a time.

It is indeed true that in so many areas of our lives that the key is to find equilibrium, but in Guillermo's case it is crucial to his full recovery. The doctors are currently trying to find the perfect balance of liquid for his system that supports the healing and proper function of both his kidneys (not too little) and his lungs (not too much).

Guillermo sure does like to keep us on our toes- just when we think he's completely on the mend, the doctors felt he needed to go back into ICU. They had discovered that his lungs had filled with fluid and they ended up taking a liter out, which seems amazing since he's not that big. Once they drained the liqued though, they rather quickly released him from ICU since he's got a very strong will and prefers to be with us all the time (read that: likes to cry a lot unless we're there).

Guillermo is indeed out of ICU and back into his 'usual' hospital room! After such a tense past week, it feels great to have such positive news. Although it will take quite a while before fully recovering from this surgery, he is obviously now out of the most dangerous period and is mostly just healing from such an invasive surgery.

We are keeping a very close eye on this situation and will be doing everything in our power to keep her safe and healthy. Having worked with the street population for some time now, we are painfully aware that although many of the street moms profess to love their children, they are unwilling or unable to leave their unstable and destructive lifestyles behind, and the process of coming out of street life is often long and full of many relapses before they are successful. We would have preferred to have Mireya's mom successfully complete a rehabilitation program and be stable for at least 6 months before reuniting them, but that has not been possible in this situation. Please keep little Mireya in your prayers.

Below is a letter from Paola who has been at Giuillermo's bedside as much as she has been allowed these past weeks, with a translation below:

AM

This morning, Paola, who has been the closest staff members to Guillermo throughout his time with us, and has been consistently at his side throughout the last few weeks, visited the little guy and left the hospital all smiles. Though the improvement seen in his kidneys has not been as much as hoped, there is improvement which is a good sign. The attending doctor said they hoped to be able to remove the breathing tube tomorrow as they think he is far enough along to start to breath without assistance. Though we are continually reminded that the road ahead is a long one, and one full of risks, it is such an encouragement to see our little fighter making gains after Thursday's scare.

PM

This is an excerpt from PDC volunteer Kim's recent letter to her supporters after a visit to Guillermo this afternoon. Kim, like Paola, has been very close to Guillermo since he joined us:

We've been blessed to have great missionary doctors who have been able to help support us at Pedacito de Cielo. One of these doctors, Dr. Gordon Hannigan-Luther, has been wonderful in helping us understand Guillermo's condition and what we should expect at each stage of the procedure and recovery. Below we've included his most recent assessment of Guillermo:

Here's my best summary of how Guillermo is doing at the moment. Though we all hope for him to have fewer problems, it is also not surprising that he's facing the battles that he is at the moment. It would be overly dramatic and pessimistic to say that it's "minute by minute" right now, but he is in a tenuous time, for sure. He's on many medications, not surprisingly. The 2 I mentioned that aren't necessarily a "given" in his situation, and that indicate how sick he is, are melrinone and epinephrine (adrenalina).

However, they have him well-treated and have him well-controlled at the moment. His vital signs currently are excellent. He is not requiring much oxygen, really, which is a great indication that the heart repair itself is doing well. The kidneys are certainly a worry, but his age bodes well for him on that, and they often can recover from an insult like he's had. The fact that he's making some urine is a good sign. So . . . it's a waiting game. The coming hours to days will tell a lot.

Paola, our administrator, who has been spending many extra hours at the hospital was happy to report that he's been moved to another area of ICU which means that he's improved enough to move from the most critical care area. We've been able to bring a few toys for him to look at (can't play with them yet, so we picked fun musical ones) and some music for him to listen to.

We've been encouraged by the small improvements we've been seeing in him, and by the reports of both his doctors at the hospital and Dr. Gordon. However, we do recognize that this is still a critical time, and again we ask for your continued prayers for his recovery.

We're glad to report the latest news- Guillermo's kidneys are responding to dialysis! This means that we have some time to allow his body to continue healing and do not need to take emergency measures in trying to do a kidney transplant so soon after this major surgery.

There is some kidney function, which means that there is the possibility of recovering full use of his kidneys, however because the kidneys did not receive sufficient amounts of blood during the surgery, the damage may be permanent.

We often refer to Guillermo as "our little fighter" as no matter what he is facing, he always triumphs. We remain hopeful that despite any odds, our little guy will pull through. We are also hopeful as we continue in prayer that we will see God's healing in Guillermo's little body.

As always, we'll continue to keep you updated.

While we were so relieved to have initially gotten such positive news about Guillermo's surgery, we knew that the recovery period is just as crucial as getting through the surgery. Unfortunately this morning we received some difficult news that there were two issues that had developed over the night.

The first is that the artery that connects his heart to his lungs did not expand the way they were hoping it to. They are encouraged by the fact that it had improved over the night, but it still needs to expand so that enough blood is getting to his lungs. If it does not improve, they will need to go in and operate again to try and correct the artery.

The second and most pressing issue is that his kidneys have stopped functioning. He is currently on dialysis, but we do not yet know if it is working. If it does work, he will remain on dialysis for the next few days with the hope that his kidneys will begin to function again. If it does not work, they will need to do an emergency kidney transplant.

We are so grateful to all of you for your prayers and support, we truly have been overwhelmed by our global family. Please continue to pray for Guillermo as he struggles coming through this procedure. Pray for the miraculous healing of his kidneys and his artery, that his kidneys will be fully functional and that the next time they check his heart, that the artery would be working correctly.

We will be posting more updates as we receive them.

Though there is still along road to recovery, we are SO EXCITED to post that Guillermo's surgery was a success according to the attending surgeon. We are going to be able to see him in a couple of hours in ICU, where he will be for several days.

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about our little fighter and keeping him in your prayers!

We will post more as we learn more.

Peace!

It's been amazing to see how much our little Guillermo has improved in the short time he's been with us. He appears strong, he's almost walking, he's no longer malnourished, he has his few little words that he can say, he's one of the happiest kids you could ever meet- a major difference from February when he first came to live at Pedacito de Cielo. It almost makes you wonder if he really needs such a risky surgery, but then if you take a closer look and see how blue his little hands and feet are, and how blue his whole body gets when he cries, you know he's not as healthy on the inside as he appears on the outside.


While we have been through the usual delays that are the norm here in Bolivia, Guillermo is currently in hospital getting his oxygen levels up and all the tests are being done to make sure that he can go in to surgery tomorrow. With the exception of constantly trying to rip his oxygen tubes out, he's in good spirits.

Guillermo is one of those children who is very easy to fall in love with, he's not only cute, he's smart and endearing, with this little look that makes you know he's a wise one, even for one so young. Knowing that this dearly loved child is about to go in for a high-risk surgery (especially for here in Bolivia) has been a difficult reality for all of us, and we all seem to be dealing with it in different ways.

However, we are united together as we pray for him and a safe and successful surgery, and we ask that you join us in praying for him. Even if you've never prayed in your life, now would be the perfect time to start. Pray for wisdom and skill in the doctors who will be performing the surgery, that the procedure will be completely successful, and that Guillermo will have a quick and complication-free recovery time.

Many thanks to all of you whom have been such wonderful supporters in both prayer and finances and have helped us give Guillermo a chance at a long and healthy future. We are constantly reminded that we would not be able to do what we do here without you.

Stick close, we'll be updating the blog as things develop.