Andre Jean

Hi!  My name is Andre Jean.  My dad carried me down the mountain on a two-hour hike almost two weeks ago to the clinic.  I was very sick.  I could not sit up and my whole body was swollen with kwashiorkor.  I heard the nurses talking to my dad about how sick I was and that I needed to stay in the rescue center for a while.  I was a little scared to stay without my family but they told me they would come visit me often.

Since I could not sit up they put me in a bed.  The first few days I just slept most of the time.  Those gals, Lori, Licia and Anna helped me out.  They brought me lots of extra meat.  I think they thought I was extra special because they would sneak the extra meat in so the other kids would not see me getting more than they did  They sat and fed me and they loved me.  I began to feel stronger.

Last Sunday (25th) they began feeding me medika mamba.  I had a big bowl to eat everyday.  It was hard at first but each day I began to get stronger and feel better.  When I first came I could not walk.  After I began eating the mamba I had to pee a lot.  They told me this was good.  I would feel better once I got some of the water off my body. 

Today makes 9 days that I have been eating the medika mamba.  Every Saturday we get weighted to see how we are doing.  Guess what I lost 6.5 pounds of water.   I feel wonderful now!  I feel like a little boy again.  Today I went outside and played with the other boys and I rode a bike.  It was so fun!

Licia came and told me today that she was so happy that I was feeling better.  She says kids like me give her hope and strength to keep going.  She told me a story of a lady that ran for a long time to raise funds to buy the mamba and then she told me about a lot of you that helped make this program possible by donating funds.  I am so thankful to everyone.  I am going to try very hard to eat well and gain weight this week.

We have a proverb here in Haiti   it says Anpil Men Chay pa Lou meaning Many hands makes the burden (load) light.  I want to thank each of you for all coming together to save my life.  I am a miracle!