Tag: William and Stella

Stella got braver. 

She has a relative that lives about 10 minutes away from the hospital, and decided she could handle living there.  The doctor said it would be okay.  William called me and asked me if it was okay with me.  Okay with me?  As if I would know.  So she was discharged on Thursday.

I told him to make arrangements with a taxi driver nearby who could pick her up at any hour of the day or night if needed.  He said he had already thought of that.

Dr. Carolyn spoke to Stella’s OB doctor.  The doctor said he was very optimistic.  Yes!  That’s what we like to hear! 

The baby is due in April.  The doctor will continue to monitor her often.  He will re-admit her to the hospital a few weeks before she is due. 

Let’s pray her through the next three months!

Remember how I told you that Stella went to Massana hospital two weeks ago? 

Well, she’s still there.  And it looks like she won’t leave until that baby is born.

At first, the doctor wanted her to stay a few days to recover after the suturing surgery.  Then, apparently she came down with malaria so she stayed a few more days after that. 

A couple days ago I talked to William about this.  “What is the doctor saying?”  He told me that the doctor says that she could go home, or that she could stay.  It was up to her, as long as they could afford it.

I told him that the money wasn’t a problem.  It costs about $10 a day to keep Stella at the hospital.  But I was still wondering if that’s really what they wanted to do.  It seems like torture to me.  No friends.  No television.  Nothing to do but lay in bed, all day long.  Of course, she would be on bedrest at home, but at least she would have people to talk to, and a husband to come home to her (who has been biking to see her every day).

Yes, he told me.  She wants to stay in the hospital.  She is afraid to go home.

Oh.

Of course she is afraid.  Wouldn’t you be?  The woman has had one miscarriage and three consecutive viable births at 7 or 8 months that have resulted in a dead baby. 

I have had a hard time imagining how such a young woman has dealt with such unspeakable pain.  In many ways, she seems incredibly strong for all of her 23 years.  And her faith is unshakable. 

But she is afraid.  It just takes them too long to get to the hospital from their house, William told me.  And if something goes wrong in the middle of the night, they might not even find a taxi to take her. 

She’s in her fifth month.  So that means she will be in the hospital for about 4 months.  That’s a long time.  But worth it, if she finally gets to hold her baby in her arms.

Dr. Carolyn told me the other day that she recently assisted in a birth at that hospital, and she was marveling at the wonder of it.  She said the nurses told her, “Next time you can help Stella deliver!”  As she told me this, we both got tears in our eyes.

Let’s pray that day comes. 

And until then, I’m going to try to find Stella some yarn and a crochet hook.  🙂

If you’ve read this blog for a while, then you know about William and Stella.  If you haven’t and want to be up to speed, then first read here, and then here. 

About a month ago I ran into William and he told me that Stella is pregnant again.  I told him I would pray.  I told him I would tell others to pray.

And then I came home and decided I needed to do something in addition to that.  I decided that if money would help save Stella’s baby, then I would get that money.  So I started exploring how that would happen.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked him how things were going.  She’s now in her fourth month.  He told me that they were going to a government hospital in town, because that’s what they could afford.  It takes an hour to get there, on a good traffic day.  He said that the weekend before they had had some sort of scare with her pregnancy, and that it had taken a $60 taxi ride (which is about half his monthly salary) and way too much time to get her there. 

I was horrified.  First of all, I gave him my phone number, and I said that next time he should call me, even if it’s the middle of the night, and I would take Stella to the hospital.  Second, I said we needed to find a closer hospital, especially because William said the doctor suggested she live there during her third trimester.

This year we have a part-time biology teacher at HOPAC, Carolyn, who is a doctor from Scotland.  She works her other part-time at a hospital not too far from school.  It’s more expensive than the other hospital…but that just means that a birth and delivery there costs $100 instead of $50.  You know, that kind of “expensive.” 

I told Carolyn about William.  She agreed to help.  She got Stella an appointment with a good doctor at this hospital.  They went this morning.  And the doctor is suturing Stella as I write. 

So this is the team God is assembling for William and Stella.  A good doctor to monitor her, at a hospital not too far from school where William works.  Myself, who will let others know of the needs and collect the money.  And Carolyn, who will act as the “middleman.”  And then, of course, there’s the dozens of people who have already told me they will donate towards Stella’s cause.  Carolyn says that the doctor will probably want Stella staying at the hospital from 32 weeks on.   There would be no way they could afford that on their own.  Truly, the Body of Christ in action.

Let’s pray she gets to 32 weeks.  Okay?  That’s why I’m writing.  So that you will be compelled to pray.  I have already written to friends of William and Stella and they have committed money to help them, and if I need more, I will probably ask you too.  But for now, that part is covered.  But will you join William and Stella’s team in prayer? Pray…pray for this dear young woman, that God preserves her life, and that God gives her a baby to hold.  We will do everything we can humanly do, but we still need God to act. 

You can be sure I will keep you updated. 

Thanks!

My heart is heavy today.

Less than two years ago, I wrote thisabout William and Stella, when they lost their first pre-term baby at 7 months.

Since then, Stella has had two more miscarriages.

And Sunday, she lost yet another pre-term 7 month baby. Apparently the baby was feet down and was vigorously kicking which caused contractions. Her womb opened up and the baby was born. He was over 3 pounds, but only lived a few minutes. In the process of all this, Stella was given multiple blood transfusions, one of which was the wrong blood type.

I have only met Stella once but see William almost every day, since he is the head janitor at HOPAC. He is a man that is full of joy and friendliness and helpfulness and smiles. He is committed to the Lord and missional and evangelical. He is a blessing to all who know him.

I am heartbroken for William and Stella and their terrible, terrible losses. I am heartbroken by the despair that must tempt them.

But what makes me even more sad is that this is not unusual in Tanzania. William and Stella’s loss reaches into my heart because I know them, but what about the countless other Tanzanian women who experience this daily? Stella’s first baby most likely would not have died with American healthcare. I would imagine that this baby would not have died with American healthcare. Her body obviously has trouble carrying babies to term. But will she ever get the treatment she needs to help that problem? And truthfully, with all of her hemorrhaging, she is lucky to be alive. Many times we have heard of women who die in childbirth in this country. I have never heard of a woman dying in childbirth in America.

I grieve for the unfairness of it all.

I mourn for the pain of a mother who has lost four children, for her arms that are once again going home empty.

I believe in a good God who has all things under His control, and this is not excluded. But I yearn for the Day when all things will be made right again, when there will be no more sorrow or pain or babies dying–that Day when William and Stella will get to meet their four lost children.

But until then, I pray that things will change in this country I have come to love. Since there is so little I personally can do to make a difference, I pray that our students will. America is not the Promised Land. But at least mothers don’t have to fear dying in childbirth. At least 3 pound babies have a good chance of survival.

Imagine it was you, and pray for them today.

William is Tanzanian. He is the head custodian at HOPAC.

He is wonderful. Full of joy. Full of energy. A hard worker. Happy to help. Brightens your day whenever you encounter him.

He deliberately moved into an impoverished area to plant a church. He spends his Saturdays playing soccer with dozens of kids. He works long hours and then goes home to share Jesus with people.

His young wife, Stella, has been pregnant with their first child. He has been so, so excited. It’s been fun to talk to him about it whenever I see him.

Today we got the sad news that Stella delivered at 7 months. The baby lived a few hours. Then he died.

When the hospital discharged them, they gave them the baby and William took him home and buried him in their front yard.

My heart is so broken for them. Of course, my heart is broken for anyone who loses a baby pre-term. But in this case, I struggle, because I’m guessing that chances are, if that baby had been born in the States, he would have lived. Babies are born at 7 months all the time in the States and are perfectly fine.

It’s just not fair.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.