Heartbreaking loss

As you may remember a few weeks ago Dylan shared a post about Fredy and Maria and the horrible situation they were in due to Maria’s illness.  Sadly, we found out a few weeks ago that Maria has passed away.

We received this news a few days after the October Serving At Risk Families (SARF) team arrived at our house and while I was sad to not be able to attend the funeral for Maria I was also blessed to have so many close friends and family here during the time that I found out about this loss.

A few days before she died, Maria’s doctors sent her home telling her there was nothing more they could do for her.  I was shocked when I heard this because so little had been done for her up to that point.  Due to the fact that Maria and Fredy didn’t have money to pay for a private hospital Maria was left to the whims of the public healthcare system.

She laid in a hospital bed, in conditions I can’t even begin to describe, for 6 months waiting for her turn to have the testing needed to confirm she had cancer.  As with many cases in the public healthcare system Maria’s turn didn’t come soon enough and the cancer that was attacking her body took over.  I remember when we went to visit her a few weeks ago and she looked so sick and weak and unhappy.  She told me she would rather just go home and die with her husband and her baby rather than stay in this hospital where they weren’t doing anything to help her.  But her husband wasn’t ready to give up on the chance of getting her help and if she would have left the hospital she would have had to start the waiting all over again if she returned.

Despite this heartbreaking situation I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave Dylan and I to spend time with Maria in the hospital encouraging her to put her hope in Jesus and praying for her.  I am also so grateful that God moved the doctors to send her home rather than letting her die in the hospital.  She was able to have 4 days with her husband and her baby, whom Maria hadn’t seen since 3 weeks after giving birth to her.  She was also able to have her wish granted which was to die at home with her husband and her baby.

Please continue to pray for this family as Fredy had started drinking a few days after Maria’s funeral.  Fredy and the baby, Jimena, are now living with their neighbors because they lost their house so thankfully there are others to help care for Jimena.  Some of the women who were here on the SARF team were able to go with us when we went on prayer visits that week and one of the places we visited was Fredy’s new home.  He and Jimena were not there but we prayed with the neighbors and encouraged them all to know that Jesus was with them and that we all, as a church body, were there to support them in any way we can.  Fredy came by the church a few days later to thank us for coming to visit him during this difficult time.

Please continue to pray for this family.  Pray for healing in Fredy’s heart and that he would stop drinking and focus on taking care of his baby girl.  Please also pray that Fredy would turn to Jesus and find comfort in him rather than in the things of this world that offer no comfort at all.  Finally, please pray for the Guatemalan healthcare system.  We hear from many people that there is no point in going to the public hospitals because they can’t get treatment and most people can’t afford the private hospitals.

Please continue to pray for this beautiful little girl, Jimena, and her dad, Fredy.