Children just trying to survive

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Along with dozens of other people, two women walked into the small, green-painted, school building we were using for our clinic.

We were in a remote village that sat along the muddy banks of the Rio Purus, a wide, lazy river that flows through the midst of the Amazon rain forest.

The younger of the two women was carrying an infant. The older of the two was busy trying to keep a very active toddler from running everywhere.

The primary focus of our medical mission trip involved setting up clinics deep within the Amazon jungle. Every day we would set up a large clinic in one of the many small villages that sat along the large river.

The large double-decker boat we traveled and lived on would off-load the staff and equipment needed to set up a clinic. Every day, we would see a few hundred patients.

We would also send out a small speedboat (an open boat with an outboard motor that could move swiftly through the dirty brown water). The speedboat carried a few people and enough supplies to set up a smaller clinic in a more remote location that would cling to the riverbanks within the jungle.

Each of the clinics would set up separate areas for intake, assessment and treatment. Using some very dedicated interpreters, we would find out why each person came to the clinic.

A physician or other medical professional would then examine and evaluate the patient. They would prescribe various medications or therapies to treat their condition. Thanks to some very generous donors, we had plenty of medications to treat almost everything from heart disease to gastrointestinal worms.

Deep within this remote area of the Amazon, knowledge of healthy lifestyles is almost non-existent. Survival is the focus of their daily existence.

The water contains large amounts of bacteria. Although food is usually bountiful, disease shadows the lives of every person living there, along with their families and villages.

Every 6 seconds, a Brazilian baby dies of diarrhea. Every 30 minutes, a Brazilian contracts leprosy. Every 30 minutes, a Brazilian contracts tuberculosis.

There are millions of cases of malaria in Brazil. There are over 10 million people in Brazil who have schistosomiasis (a parasite that invades the body and destroys the liver).

It is no wonder that the Amazon has been described as “The leading producer of human misery.”

I was working in the last section of our clinic — the treatment area. I was able to listen as the physician and interpreter spoke with the women.

The youngest was the mother; she was around 15. The grandmother was only about 30 years old. Surprisingly, despite their difference in size, the children were twins. One was active and healthy. The other was barely able to move.

Since their birth, one had been strong the other had been failing. We tried to give nutrition to the weak child. She could hardly swallow. We did everything we could do in such a primitive clinic.

Eventually, they were sent back to their home – a hut along the river.

After they left, I said to the doctor, “That child is not going to survive.” He answered, “I know. She may live a few more days, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Our day in the village was about over. None of us could stop thinking about the little girl. As we packed up our equipment, we decided we needed to do something … anything.

The only chance the child had was for us to get her to the small, ill-equipped clinic in Beruri. It was a long trip from where we were back to Beruri.

We decided to pool our money to see if we could come up with enough to use the speedboat to get them downriver to the clinic. We scraped up the money. Now, we needed to find out where grandma lived and offer to get the baby to more advanced care.

We found their hut at the far edge of the village. It was elevated on long poles to keep it above the waterline of the river. The entire front of the hut was open to the weather.

Neither the mother or grandmother wanted to take the dying child away from the village. Our interpreter found out that the problem was their fear of not being able to get back from Beruri after the child was treated. We promised to do everything we could to get the baby treated and to get them home.

It was heartbreaking to watch the grandmother carry the small infant into the speedboat. Fear filled her face. The young mother cried. Many of us also had tears in our eyes.

We’ll never know the outcome. We’ll never know if that sick little baby was able to catch up with her twin.

Probably not, but we tried.

Whether a child is born into extreme poverty along a riverbank in the Amazon or whether a child is born into a dysfunctional home here in Clinton County, we need to pool our money to do everything possible to rescue the child – to give the child a chance to thrive in life.

Thank God the citizens of Clinton County supported the Children Services levy last year.

Now, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of children here at home.

We are blessed.

Randy Riley is former Mayor of Wilmington and former Clinton County Commissioner.

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Randy Riley

Contributing columnist

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