Marbella

Marbella means “beautiful sea,” and that’s such a perfect name for the little girl that we met recently. We first saw her about two weeks ago when we were visiting a small community called Cerro Blanco (White Hill).

 

Rosa and Marbella

 

Our friend Rosa (a nursing student from the States) was with us and her first thought was that little Marbella had chicken pox. On that first visit two weeks ago, we didn’t have a chance to talk to her but two days ago we visited again. Poor Marbella was still covered in sores on her face, arms, and legs. After talking to her and her sister, we learned that Marbella had been covered in these sores for over a year! They had taken her to the clinic where she was given a cream, but she was not recovering.

Rosa's Village Clinic

Rosa did some research and talked to the doctor at our clinic. The girl was diagnosed with impetigo. Basically, she had been bitten by mosquitoes and then she scratched. The scratching broke the skin and bacterium was introduced into the open wound. A basic skin infection went untreated, and poor Marbella suffered unnecessarily for over a year!

 

Rosa with Marbella & her Dad

I thank God for that skin infection though. Sounds strange, but because of it, Rosa was attracted to this little girl. She listened to Marbella’s heart and lungs and heard an abnormality in the girl’s heart. Today, we took Marbella and her dad to their local clinic. The doctor has written up a referral for Marbella to be taken to Tuxtla for further tests and hopefully she’ll receive the treatment that she needs for her heart.

 

Pray that God will continue to open the doors! Pray for Marbella and her family.