Maekin’s Arm
I am sitting in the Miami airport waiting for my Dad’s flight to arrive so we can have lunch together and then fly down to Haiti. I have not been back to Haiti since moving the kids in back at the end of February (read about that story here), and I have a few different emotions running around right now as I am waiting to make the trip. The first thing is that I had to leave Jess and Sophie back in Jacksonville for the 5th time since Sophie was born in November and that is always so difficult. Every time I come back Sophie is almost like a completely different person with the things that she can do and the way that she grows up and it is difficult missing those moments. I know how lucky I am that I have been with her so much, especially as one of my good friends from college, Matt Endress (Goose if you knew him in school), has just been deployed and is away from his wife and 3 kids. I know I have said this a lot in my blogs but I cannot even imagine doing what they do. Anyway, that side of me is sad that I am having to leave my family. There is a whole different side of me, however, that is really excited about seeing our kids and making sure they are ok. This trip is going to be very busy and really crazy, but I am excited about hugging the kids and making sure they are all good.
I am now writing the rest of this after the flight and as I sit at the Christianville guesthouse. Anyway, I wanted to write and tell you a little more of the story of how Maekin broke his arm and what happened after he did. First of all, as you probably already know, he broke his arm by falling off of his bike. It is funny how quickly all of them could ride a bike after they got them for Christmas this year. Even the smallest ones who had never been on a bike before were riding like pros by the third day. I guess if you want to do something badly enough, you will figure out how to do it. Maekin already knew how to ride and was one of the better ones at it. He is one of those kids that just seem to be good at things for whatever reason, one of those kids that can just pick up any game, does well in school, and just has knack of how to do a wide variety of things. However, none of that matter when he hit a rock and went flying off of his bike.
You may or may not know that his break was actually a compound fracture! He immediately went to Haiti Health Ministries (the clinic right next to our new place) and they sent him into Port Au Prince to be cared for. He needed surgery and was placed in the hospital immediately. Luckily, one of our House Moms has a husband who is also a very good driver and he was able to come over immediately and take Maekin to the hospital. He arrived and was put in a room waiting to have his surgery. At this point we were getting constant updates and we kept waiting for the surgery to happen so that Maekin could go home.
Before I finish this story, I want to talk about the incredible caregivers that we have here at All Things New and how well they took care of Maekin. The first night that he was in the hospital, he had so many adults in the room with him that the doctor had to kick some of them out. When they were forced to leave the room, they just waited outside to hear news. Maekin had people coming every single day. 3 of the House Moms, 1 of the House Mom’s husbands, Jeff, Lener, Gina, and even Gina’s husband all came to the hospital to visit. He was in the hospital for 3 days and it was a constant stream of adults who loved and cared about him. Then, maybe the best part of it, Herbison stepped up and asked if he could go and be with Maekin for a while and Jeff and Lener drove in with Herbison so he could see and be there for Maekin. This is why our caregivers are so important and so wonderful. This is not just a job for most of them, they care about our kids and it makes us care about them!
Anyway, back to the story, Maekin was in the hospital for 3 days before his surgery. They had to get to the “emergencies” first prior to coming to fix Maekin’s compound fracture. We got news that the surgery went well and that he was going home and he was so excited. He was getting antsy in the hospital and ready to go home. Thank you for your prayers and for asking about him, and please understand the love that Maekin received from his House Moms and our employees. We have such a great team. If you think about the fact that you have wonderful employees, incredible supporters, and great kids, it seems evident that GOD has great things in store for All Things New!