“Daddy, please pray for me.”

Cecilia has been fighting a cold for over a week.  She has cold induced asthma, so it has been particularly hard on her.  She took her inhaler once every three hours on Tuesday night and I sat up with her almost all night as she slept.  I just wasn’t comfortable with the situation.  That night I made the decision to visit the doctor the next day.

The doctor said she has Bronchitis and he suggested we use her nebulizer every 6 hours.  Wednesday night was scary.  Her asthma seemed to be getting worse throughout the day and she was taking the nebulizer more and more often.  Instead of every 6 hours she was taking it every 4 hours.  She coughed all night and at 11pm I went in to sit with her. 

At 2am her chest was so tight that the nebulizer was not working.  She couldn’t breathe well enough to take in the medication.  She asked if she could take her inhaler.  When she did, it gave her immediate relief.  She was then able to take the nebulizer treatment. 

At 5am she tried to take the nebulizer but again couldn’t catch her breath.  She was starting to panic, which makes it worse.  I talked with her to calm her down and told her to take the inhaler like last time.  After the first spray, she still couldn’t breathe.  She said, “daddy, please pray for me.”  As she inhaled a second time, I was praying...begging really.  I was already running through my mind what I would do if she could not catch her breath.  There is no 911 here.  I would drive to a friends house who lives down the street and we would drive her to a hospital.  I told him to be ready earlier that night.  And at that very second, she breathed.  She was then able to take her nebulizer and sleep a few more hours. 

I stayed awake all night, praying and thanking God.  Now that I am in Guatemala I am more aware of miracles and do not believe in coincidence.  I have seen more miracles in the village of El Rosario than I can count and tonight, I witnessed another.

The next morning, we called a doctor in the United States to get a second opinion on the treatment given to us in Guatemala.  It was the appropriate medication but based on the previous night the doctor added a steroid once a day.  Cecilia slept peacefully Thursday and Friday night and as I type this she is sleeping without a single cough.  “Gracias a Dios.”

This is the question I can't stop asking myself:  What would a single mom in El Rosario do if her child were in the same situation?  I was able to provide multiple medical options, in the middle of the night.  Cecilia was able to take a steam shower at 3am.  I was able to microwave a hot cup of tea to calm her cough.  I was able to do it all, with light.  Most single moms we know do not have electricity. 

Cecilia and I talked about it and we agreed that we now have even more empathy and compassion for the families God has called us to in El Rosario.  As much as we THINK we know about the people we have grown to love, we are only just beginning to understand the depth of their challenges.  Poverty does not just mean, not eating well.  It can mean the difference between breathing and not breathing, at 5am. 

If you would like to be a part of our support team Click here.  If you want to email us, we would love to hear from you!  georgesisneros@gmail.com or vondasisneros@gmail.com.  You can call us any time from the States at 970-449-9449.

We would love to have you visit!  We can host up to four people and have spots available in September and October.  We can also add you to our calendar for 2014.  

Follow our journey at GodCalledUs.com.