Troy and I brought Emmanuel to Lori and Licia late in the afternoon yesterday. Paige decided she did not want to go. I didn't blame her. We don't really know what to do with a baby that ill.`
I found myself very angry most of the ride over as I looked down at a baby that has not been given care or enough love in his short 23 day life. While I was crying Troy asked "Can you do this?" I cannot understand why, when offered help more than a week ago, the people caring for him DID NOTHING. It is frustrating and it ticks me off. We did not ask them to come on the ride, mainly because I did not think I could be kind - there was a chance, if we did not leave fast that I would punch one of them.
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We stopped once to see if we could tell if he was still breathing. When we got to Cazale Lori and Licia took a good look at him. He has a bedsore on his hip from laying still on it too long, which did not help me feel less angry. He weighed a lot less on their scale, so our scales are not matching up. We had him at 4.13 but yesterday on their scale he weighed 3.12. As you can tell by looking at his wrinkly loose skin, the boy needs to be hydrated.
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Lori put "Troy Livesay" in the Mom spot on the intake papers. We had fun laughing at Troy over that. Troy said "He is so small, it was not that painful delivering him." In times where something is incredibly sad, and if screaming or crying seems like the thing to do --- the other alternative is to laugh. An outsider watching from afar would probably be appalled, but it is an effective coping mechanism.
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Both of his parents are dead. The aunts and family left to care for him don't seem attached or committed to him. If he lives I personally will be praying that the family will place him for adoption. This little boy deserves so much more than he has been given.
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Emmanuel means "God with Us"
That reminder is especially important today.
