Beautiful...Pretty....Miracle Baby

The African mama walked down the hallway holding a tiny bundle of beautiful, vibrant colored, fabric in her hands. Although the bundle was small, I knew a precious coffee colored baby lay beneath the layers of fabric. I walked toward the pair with a smile on my face. I stopped and greeted the mama with my broken French. I pointed toward the baby in her arms. She slowly pulled aside the fabric blanket, with a cautious spirit, so I could see half of the infant’s face. The baby was tiny, but absolutely beautiful. I leaned over and gently kissed the babe on the forehead. In my pathetic French I said, “Beautiful, pretty” and pointed toward the child. I know the mother understood me, but with forlorn eyes she shook her head disagreeing with my statement. The mother adjusted the baby’s blanket and I caught a glimpse of the left side of the baby’s face. There was a huge, lumpy, nodular, mass protruding from the side of the infant’s face. The mass was almost bigger than the baby’s entire head. Without changing my facial expression, I leaned over, kissed the baby once more, smiled at the mother, and let the pair continue down the hallway. We found out her name was Maomi, she was three months old and weighed a mere five and a half pounds. She was incredibly malnourished and hanging onto life with everything in her. She was a fighter! All we wanted was to fight with her and for her, but reality screamed that she was so malnourished and small that she may never survive an operation. But if we didn’t operate, Maomi would surely die. Mercy Ships prides itself in bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, but what do we do for this baby? If death steals Maomi’s life away on the operating table… what then??? When death occurs, it doesn’t alter the fact that God is still on His throne, but it sure is hard to handle… We wished for nothing more than health and a full life for Maomi, but what do we do as mere humans???? Maomi’s tumor was so big and she was so tiny. We weren’t certain, but it appeared the tumor was wrapped around Maomi’s jaw bone and intertwined with her carotid artery; the largest artery in the body. If we opened the tumor, but cut the carotid artery Maomi would quickly bleed to death. What to do??? Maomi needed a miracle. We prayed and asked God for wisdom and if we were to be part of Maomi’s miracle… The decision was made to operate. We asked God for his grace and guidance to be upon Maomi’s life. The surgery was long and stressful, but Maomi pulled through. Through God’s miraculous strength, our incredibly skilled surgeons were able to separate and remove the tumor from around the carotid artery and jaw bone. Maomi spent a number of days in the ICU, but finally made her way to the ward. She struggled learning how to suck again and wasn’t getting enough nutrition or gaining enough weight, so we put a feeding tube in her stomach. Finally, our prayers were answered and baby Maomi started gaining weight. Her previously gaunt looking little cheeks were getting cute and plump. She learned how to take a bottle and the feeding tube wasn’t needed anymore! After a few months it was determined Maomi was strong enough to go home. There is a chance Maomi’s tumor can come back, but we pray against that. Ever few days I see Maomi and her mama returning to the ship for Maomi's weight checks. Maomi appears to be doing well. She really is a fighter! Maomi’s mother no longer hides her beneath layers of fabric. When I greet the duo in the hallway, Mama hugs me and puts her precious daughter into my hands so I can kiss her cute little cheeks. I marvel at the miracle that has happened in Maomi’s life. There is so much I want to say to Maomi’s mother but all I say is, “beautiful, pretty” as I kiss Maomi’s forehead and this time when I look up at Maomi’s mother, she is smiling!