Ongoing Saga of Emaneul

Penny and I are in Oregon for a few weeks patiently waiting for the birth of our daughter Sarah's first child. Penny had come to the US earlier to care for her mother (in the aftermath of some pulmonary emboli). As you may have noted. her mother is doing much better.

Leon Greene drove me to La Ceiba as the first leg of my trip north and accomodated my request to stop at the home of our young friend Emanuel (and his family) and get a picture of him.

You may recall that Emanuel's mother, Keylin, died a few hours after his birth about 10 months ago. His live birth was a miracle, considering his mother's inevitably fatal heart defect (Tetrology of Fallott).

Emmanuel was born, full term, weighing 3 1/2 pounds (not kilograms)-incredibly small due to the low blood oxygen his mother endured (in spite of being aided by an oxygen concentrator given by encouragers from Tulsa, OK).

Tho tiny and looking a bit "elfish", he appeared to be healthy. I have watched with some anxiety for signs of normal development, being reasonably concerned for his central nervous system development as a result of his intrauterine oxygen deprivation.

Emanuel appears to be a bit of a VIP in the village of Lis Lis, as he is often visiting a neighbor or relative when we stop by. (And I can note that his mother's pregnancy and his birth have increased the number of patients from the village getting prenatal care.) But whenever we stop by, a "big sister or brother" (really his cousins) run one path or another to bring him for us to see. I search each time for some signs of development. Seeing him this day was truly getting to see a bit more of the miracle of his birth. Leon (a cardiologist and actively involved in Keylin's care) and I were so privileged.

Big Sis handed Emanuel to me as she returned from a neighbor house that morning. For the first time, he cried and reached for "mommy", so I gave him to her, but within seconds his crying stopped and he was reaching back to get his hands in my beard (few men here have beards). WOW! "Stranger anxiety" developing about on schedule- and yet sufficient recognition (of me) and curiosity about my strange face. As we talked, I asked about the scrape on his nose. His mother (aunt), told me that it was from falling while learning to walk! Delmi (his mother) asked one of the other children to bring a chair and she put him down beside it. He zoomed around the porch, scooting the plastic chair in front of him.

WOW, stranger anxiety, recognition, curiosity and walking developing on time, .
You know that we praise GOD for getting to see this.