Medical Services
Baby Brandy's Blessing
CBN.com – Brandy Barrientos is a one-and-half year old baby girl, living in the Chiquimula Department, about 110 miles northeast from Guatemala City. She lives with her father, Emilio, her mother, Angelica and her three brothers.
When Operation Blessing first heard about Baby Brandy, she was very weak. She had a persistent cough, difficulty breathing and fever.
Emilio and Angelica saw their baby getting sicker, but they didn't know what was wrong. Pastor Jose Campos knew about Brandy’s case and he visited the Barrientos’ family.
Because her family is very poor and there were not enough economic resources to take her to a local hospital or to buy medicine, Campos contacted Operation Blessing in Chiquimula.
Communal First-Aid Kit
Through the communal first-aid kit program, a doctor examined Brandy and discovered an advanced bronchopneumonia, which could have slipped into pneumonia at any moment.
OB’s communal first-aid kit provided a treatment for one week. The baby was treated with the antibiotic Lorabidand Tylenol. But the medicine didn’t help.
The doctor realized on the second visit that treatment needed to be more intense. So OBI and its communal first-aid kit provided the same medicine and dose again for another week. After two weeks, Brandy’s health improved remarkably.
Campos said OB made follow-up visits with Brandy until confirming her complete recovery.
"Operation Blessing took much care for Brandy, and she had all that she needed to be healed completely," Campos said.
Spiritual Aid
Meanwhile, OB was not only supporting this baby with doctor's visits and medicine, they also provided spiritual and moral support, spiritual counseling, and food like beans, corn and rice, for the entire family.
At the same time, OBI asked and encouraged several local companies to give donations to Barrientos’ family, as well as supply clothes for the whole family, especially the four children.
But the help didn’t stop there! OB gave Emilio a donation of 1,500 Quetzals (almost $200) so that he could invest them in a business selling agricultural products. Now, Emilio buys products from local farmers and he resells them in the local market.
Brandy’s parents were very broken-hearted because of their daughter’s illness, but through Operation Blessing they received God’s providence.
Angelica was already a Christian, but her husband was not. Counseling sessions, prayers and assistance to his daughter helped Emilio understand God’s love -- he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart!
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