Fedner, another of my Ravine regulars, gave me quite a scare this week. His mom came to visit Frantzo, her nephew, at Dorothy's house and I asked her how Fedner was doing.
"Fedner nearly died this week!" she exclaimed.
"What? He was fine last time I saw him. How did I die?" I was shocked but the only thing I could think was that he must have gotten dehydrated from a bad case of diarrhea after I walked the Ravine on Monday. Fedner frequently gets diarrhea.
"He fell in a 5 gallon bucket of water and almost drowned," she explained matter-of-factly.
My poor little baby! He spent 3 days in the hospital, on oxygen and IVs, getting xrays and blood work to make sure that he hadn't developed a pneumonia or another infection from his near drowning. This week, he was back home with his mom, and I got to see him when I walked through the Ravine. I grabbed him and scolded him, to the amusement of everyone around: "Fedner, you naughty baby. You are not allowed to die!"
Tuberculosis, AIDS, malaria, diarrhea, infected wounds, scabies, head fungus, hernias, worms, bronchitis, typhoid, drowning in 5 gallon buckets - just a few of the every day hazards of childhood in Haiti.
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