Paulina, a survivor of meningococcemia, had skin breakdown being treated with bone dust by the local witchdoctor before coming to the River of Life Medical Center.
Waves of mercy and grace washed over 9-year-old Paulina of the Ngombe slum when God took her into His loving arms and brought her to our attention. Living a life in severe destitution with no mother or father would seemingly be the worst of the young girl’s problems, but it didn’t stop there. She contracted meningococcus, an incredibly dangerous infection of the blood that carries a high mortality rate if left untreated.
The disease spread, resulting in open sores that covered her entire left knee. Her grandmother took her to a local hospital where she was given antibiotics that saved her life. However, due to a lack of quality follow-up care, she contracted another infection in the hospital. Her grandmother then took her to a witchdoctor for healing. The witchdoctor, living a life riddled with darkness and corruption, instructed her to grind up cow bones and spread it over the infected area. As a result of this “remedy” and a lack of proper medication and care, the infection took a severe turn for the worst. Over the next several months, the knee grew into a massive growth of sores and infection.
“The infection was so severe that it caused her to lose her knee cap and the soft tissue surrounding it,” Family Legacy’s pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Brad Guffey explained. “Now the infection has made its way into Paulina’s bones. When brought to our care, she was in grave danger of losing her leg and her life.”
Unable to walk, she stopped going to community school. She did not have a wheelchair or any way to get around unless someone carried her, and the unsightly growth had begun to ostracize her from society completely. Paulina did not ask for this. She did not ask to be left by mother and father, have her body attacked by a deadly disease or have witchcraft forced upon her. She did not ask to have a debilitating growth that left her disabled and shunned from society. But praise be to God that joy comes in the morning! He never took His faithful eyes off of His daughter. God sent His faithful servant, a multi-year Camp LIFE alumni straight to her doorstep on our Evangelism Day of Camp LIFE week four. Seeing this precious child in such dire need before him, Jerry felt compelled to bring her to our attention. The hands and feet of Jesus — the Body of Christ is a beautiful thing!
On Monday morning of week five of Camp LIFE, little Paulina was picked up by car in Ngombe and brought directly to see Dr. Guffey at camp. Within moments, Paulina was placed in her own Camp LIFE group with Heather and Margo as her Camp LIFE counselors, and we had numerous people immediately volunteer to sponsor Paulina to live under our full-time care at the Tree of Life Children’s Village. No time was wasted and the very next day, our beloved Paulina moved into Grace House and met her new family — 11 doting sisters and two nurturing house moms to love her as their own - three meals a day, a real school to go to and a pediatrician personally attending to her every need and seeing her healing process through until her full health is restored. Though she has a long, hard road ahead of her, she now has the resources necessary to find true healing in every sense of the word.
“We at Family Legacy trust in FAITH for Paulina’s full and complete healing,” Vice President Holly Scurry exulted. “We have watched God work miracle after miracle in the lives of our children, and it is clear that the Lord is shining His light down on Paulina’s life. We believe that she will be healed and restored in every way. One day, she will be walking, playing on the playgrounds, and thriving at the Tree of Life. We know and celebrate that precious Paulina is the NEXT 50 YEARS OF ZAMBIA!”
www.familylegacy.com
Waves of mercy and grace washed over 9-year-old Paulina of the Ngombe slum when God took her into His loving arms and brought her to our attention. Living a life in severe destitution with no mother or father would seemingly be the worst of the young girl’s problems, but it didn’t stop there. She contracted meningococcus, an incredibly dangerous infection of the blood that carries a high mortality rate if left untreated.
The disease spread, resulting in open sores that covered her entire left knee. Her grandmother took her to a local hospital where she was given antibiotics that saved her life. However, due to a lack of quality follow-up care, she contracted another infection in the hospital. Her grandmother then took her to a witchdoctor for healing. The witchdoctor, living a life riddled with darkness and corruption, instructed her to grind up cow bones and spread it over the infected area. As a result of this “remedy” and a lack of proper medication and care, the infection took a severe turn for the worst. Over the next several months, the knee grew into a massive growth of sores and infection.
“The infection was so severe that it caused her to lose her knee cap and the soft tissue surrounding it,” Family Legacy’s pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Brad Guffey explained. “Now the infection has made its way into Paulina’s bones. When brought to our care, she was in grave danger of losing her leg and her life.”
Unable to walk, she stopped going to community school. She did not have a wheelchair or any way to get around unless someone carried her, and the unsightly growth had begun to ostracize her from society completely. Paulina did not ask for this. She did not ask to be left by mother and father, have her body attacked by a deadly disease or have witchcraft forced upon her. She did not ask to have a debilitating growth that left her disabled and shunned from society. But praise be to God that joy comes in the morning! He never took His faithful eyes off of His daughter. God sent His faithful servant, a multi-year Camp LIFE alumni straight to her doorstep on our Evangelism Day of Camp LIFE week four. Seeing this precious child in such dire need before him, Jerry felt compelled to bring her to our attention. The hands and feet of Jesus — the Body of Christ is a beautiful thing!
On Monday morning of week five of Camp LIFE, little Paulina was picked up by car in Ngombe and brought directly to see Dr. Guffey at camp. Within moments, Paulina was placed in her own Camp LIFE group with Heather and Margo as her Camp LIFE counselors, and we had numerous people immediately volunteer to sponsor Paulina to live under our full-time care at the Tree of Life Children’s Village. No time was wasted and the very next day, our beloved Paulina moved into Grace House and met her new family — 11 doting sisters and two nurturing house moms to love her as their own - three meals a day, a real school to go to and a pediatrician personally attending to her every need and seeing her healing process through until her full health is restored. Though she has a long, hard road ahead of her, she now has the resources necessary to find true healing in every sense of the word.
“We at Family Legacy trust in FAITH for Paulina’s full and complete healing,” Vice President Holly Scurry exulted. “We have watched God work miracle after miracle in the lives of our children, and it is clear that the Lord is shining His light down on Paulina’s life. We believe that she will be healed and restored in every way. One day, she will be walking, playing on the playgrounds, and thriving at the Tree of Life. We know and celebrate that precious Paulina is the NEXT 50 YEARS OF ZAMBIA!”
www.familylegacy.com
