I just want to pass along an update on Zoe, the infant whose family we supported in our fundraiser. Zoe has been to a few more medical professionals for other opinions, and nothing has changed in regard to her prognosis, or the cause of her condition. The cause is still unknown, and there isn’t much hope for her recovery.
She was supposed to be isolated from all other people because of her very weak immune system, and that would mean living with her mother alone somewhere, isolated from everyone else. The family doesn’t see this as practical on many levels, so Zoe has lived at home since around October (if I remember well), while her mother has personally continued administering physical therapy to help her develop motor skills, particularly with regard to eating.
There have been ups and downs, but it doesn’t seem that there a much general growth, including developing the eating instincts of sucking/chewing/swallowing. And now her mother is with Zoe while Zoe recovers from pneumonia in a hospital in Quito, after which doctors will install a button and tube in her stomach so that she can receive nourishment. This was a last resort and almost giving up on her being able to eat by herself.
I hope to post another update soon. It’s much appreciated if you could keep Zoe, her parents Isidro and Karina, and her brother Liam in your prayers.
-Jerome
