UPDATE ON CLAUDE
Some things are hard to believe but believe this. After two hospital stays and treatment for various symptoms, a chance remark by the local clinic gave us an end to the dilemma of our little boy Claude. It seemed impossible that this one child could suffer from malnutrition and be so ill when all the children eat together and eat the same food. Why did not every child have the same condition? Treating the symptoms with antibiotics and a protein supplement he did not have to chew gave the impression he was getting well, but as soon as the antibiotics were completed he became ill again.
We had decided to take him to our friend Diane Longson and ask her to start from scratch as we did not trust the tests given to him so far. There just had to be an explanation soon or we would lose this little boy. Malnutrition is dangerous. Again the symptoms returned and we took him to the local clinic. The diagnosis was the same but a nurse there suggested he had a problem with his teeth.
Because of our connection with the dental program we had been a part of with Dr Richard Reckmeyer and Dr. Drew Cahoon at Kabgayi Hospital, Claude was given an appointment to see Kizito, the technician they had trained. What a blessing! Claude had one severely abscessed tooth and another malformed tooth that gave him much pain, and so he was moving his food to other children. When he did eat something he would throw it up. This dear little boy could not eat because he did not want the pain. Kizito put him on an antibiotic. That again took care of the infection but this time after a week the problem teeth were removed. Problem solved!
Now Claude does not like Kizito when he has his doctor's coat on but Kizito came to Urukundo to check on Claude without the coat and he and Claude are friends again.
Claude is now one happy, healthy child.
