Things are going well here in Manila, thanks be to God. Cedric begins his physical therapy tomorrow and he will also meet with the orthosis doctor so she can begin making the braces for his legs.
We have spent the first two weeks here jumping through bureaucratic hoops to get Cedric’s insurance reinstated and to apply for the financial assistance which his doctors recommended. It turns out that the insurance will not cover this treatment and the government won’t provide any help at this time. Thanks to the generosity of those who have given, though, it looks like we might have just enough to cover Cedric’s treatment and our expenses here. He will probably have to return to Manila not too long from now but for the time being it seems that God has generously provided. I thank and praise him for it, and I also thank all of you for your help and prayers.
We will be meeting with the spina bifida expert again before we leave so he can evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. He will give a more detailed outlook for Cedric’s future at that point but so far the news has been very good. Essentially, it seems that if Cedric had not received any help from us his chances would have been bad. His bladder was already in a very dangerous condition due to improper care. If he were to go on without proper physical therapy and braces it seems likely that his spinal condition would have become drastically worse. However, with good care for his neurogenic bladder, proper therapeutic exercises and assistive devices like leg braces it seems that he will have a good chance of remaining healthy and mobile. It seems like our help arrived at just the right time. I am confident that with God’s grace and our assistance Cedric will be as healthy as our Lord wishes him to be. Every day in our morning prayers we ask the Lord to give Cedric all the help he needs so he can be His good and faithful servant; it is plain to see that this is happening. We also give thanks in these daily prayers for everyone who helps and prays for us and we ask the Lord to bless you all.
Cedric has a great love for prayer and has also consistently been expressing his desire to join the Church so I have been catechizing him. I will post more about that later but for now I will say that it is very touching and profound to see a child quickly grasp the truths of the gospel through the gift of faith. “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” For those of you who are not Christian I hope you can see the great comfort and strength the Christian faith gives to those who suffer. Even a child like Cedric is able to understand the crucified Lord and the power He offers to those who suffer joined to Him.
I have also been working with Cedric on some developmental issues. Unfortunately in situations of poverty children are often not taught very basic skills that are necessary for normal life. When a child has a serious physical limitation those instances of neglect are apt to be more extreme. For instance, Cedric is twelve years old but he doesn’t know how to tie his own shoes. He has trouble reading the ten milliliter graduation dashes on his urine output measurement cup. I have been taking the time to try to help him overcome such developmental problems. It is the right thing to do for its own sake but in Cedric’s case it is particularly important. Unfortunately, when he goes home I don’t think that there is anyone who can be trusted to take proper care of him. For that reason I am trying to train him to do as much as possible on his own. I plan to have him come and stay with me about three days out of the week so I can be sure he gets adequate therapeutic exercise and catechism but he will have to be on his own most of the time. I have to be sure he is ready for that.
This work with Cedric (in addition to my university coursework) has been keeping me very busy here- that is why I haven’t been keeping everyone updated as much as I would like to. I certainly have a newly found respect for single parents! I will try to post more soon but for now please know that by God’s grace all is well and I have faith that Cedric will continue to improve. Just from what I have been doing with him so far he already looks much better and is noticeably more mobile than when we left. I am sure that the physical therapy we are starting tomorrow will make a much bigger difference! I want to thank everyone for their help and their prayers and I ask you to please keep praying for God’s will to be done here with us. We will be praying for you also. Thank you
MISSION OF MERCY 