Second day!

     Today the day started with us going to the "Albergue," their facility.

     

    





     There, we met J., with whom we painted for a little bit. He liked it a lot, and seeing him smile was certainly rewarding! 








     We, soon went to participate in the visits at home, which I talked about on the last post. 

     First, we visited E., who is a 4 month old little girl and is the first baby of a very young couple. She was born with a very rare syndrome that brings numerous malformations. Babies with the same case are expected to live only two months, however, with the help offered by the institute as well as great efforts and care from her parents, Ema has been able to survive for 2 months over that. Ema is a very strong cute little girl.

   

 After, we visited I., a very handsome little boy who just turned 8 two weeks ago. He has been patiently waiting for a transplant of heart and lungs, even though his family has been warned that this type of procedure is rare. When we arrived in his room, he was sitting on his bed, watching TV. He was very calm. We gave him a stuffed dog, and he immediately smiled. I asked him if he liked dogs, he said yes and pointed at the side of the bed, where there was another little stuffed dog. He, then started playing with both of them. Doctor Irolda, scheduled a session of therapy with dogs for him. The meeting ended with him happy and excited about it.

    All those little kids are precious, and it amazes me that along with their families, they are able to overcome so many hardships that are unimaginable to most people. They're amazing, and most important of all, they are happy, although in their own world!

    Tomorrow, we will head to another area of Costa Rica, where they're building another center of paliative care.

Kisses, 

Mariana