Update on Baby Fidelis, August 19, 2015

Hello everyone,

This post will be brief.

I am so sad to report that Baby Fidelis' surgery in Toronto did  not go forward on August 18, 2015 as scheduled.

A monetary dispute between Fidelis' family and the family advocate, Joseph, has erupted and interfered with the scheduled surgery. Serious allegations have been made and the police are now involved. I don't have too many details and I'm looking for positives in this matter.

The advocate says no funds have been stolen or lost.  So if he can be believed, that is good news.  However to the best of my knowledge, the funds haven't been transferred to Baby Fidelis' family yet.  Neither have the Canadian visitor's visas been given over to the baby and her mother.

A bit of good news is that the hospital in Canada says they will open a new surgery date for Baby Fidelis if the family can get to Canada soon.  Major hospitals in Kenya cannot do the type of surgery that Baby Fidelis requires which is why she has to travel abroad.

The challenge is that Baby Fidelis has a team of doctors  that have travelled to do the surgery.  They come from different countries and cannot indefinitely stay in Canada waiting for the baby and her mother to arrive.  I've heard that the doctors will remain in Canada  for 3 more weeks in hopes that the family can come up with the funds to fly to Toronto and to cover travel insurance.

Another bit of good news is that the county government where Baby Fidelis and family reside in Kenya, have officially  gotten involved in this case due to it's high profile nature and the devastating turn of events.

The Honourable Joseph M. Mbai, Chief Officer (Health & Sanitation) in Muranga County has contacted the Canadian Consulate in Nairobi concerning re-issuance of travel visas. Once visas are in hand, the county government will also pay for air travel for Baby Fidelis and her mother.  The baby and her mom will stay with a host family in Canada.  The host family originates from Kenya and can communicate with the mom in Swahili.  The host family members will also escort the baby and mother to the hospital each day.  The only remaining issue seems to be the general maintenance involved in half a year's stay in Canada.  Good Kenyans are now frantically fund-raising once again to help make all this happen very soon.

Sadly, this child has been caught in the middle of a dispute and it appears that the family advocate has seriously let her down.  As each day passes, the baby's face becomes more disfigured and the needed surgery becomes more complicated.

Baby Fidelis

Please continue to pray for this baby and her family.

Note:  I have revised, updated or deleted some of my earlier blog posts regarding Baby Fidelis and the advocate and will continue to try and do so.  Particularly those requesting donations be sent to the Hope Foundation in Kenya., an organization helping the very disabled in Kenya.  As a result of this dispute, the police have now frozen the Hope Foundation's  accounts pending resolution of this matter.  No funds should be sent there.

Sky Tonight

View north to the mountains which are obscured by low lying cloud.

When night falls, the cross on the church steeple will be illuminated.

Southeastern view of the sky.  I always like to see the flag waving in the wind.

At last we might be getting a bit of rain here in Vancouver. Not much has fallen yet but hopefully tonight it will.

Checking in with Skywatch Friday.

Two Parrots & A Cockatoo

I  am finally getting around to sharing a few more photos of the beautiful birds I photographed this summer. 

I will be joining in with host, Eileen at Saturday's Critters.

Thank you Eileen for managing this wonderful meme.

 If
you missed my Skywatch post & brief update on medical missions in Kenya, you can find it by clicking here.

Bloedel Conservatory located in Vancouver's beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park & home to the birds.

Casey, the Amazon Parrot

Kramer, the Moluccan Cockatoo

Moluccans are the largest of the cockatoo family and are extremely intelligent. I've read that Kramer loves peppermint tea, baseball hats, and is a very good dancer.  Sometimes he swings upside-down from his perch and puts on a show.  I was fortunate enough to see him put on a show when I visited though.  He was quite cooperative in posing for photos for me and only put the show on when he had an audience. Kramer has a large vocabulary and says things like "What is that?", "I' m a bird.", and "Let's party" among other things.

Rudy, African Grey Parrot

Rudy is an African Grey Parrot and is about 17 years old.  It is said that these parrots are loving and playful and bring joy and laughter into the lives of all who have the pleasure of knowing one. They are very intelligent birds and are considered to be the “Einstein’s” of the parrot world because of their incredible talking ability. African Greys are considered to be among the most intelligent of all birds, ranking alongside dolphins and chimpanzees for their ability to associate human words with meanings, shapes and colours.  While I was there Rudy was quite quiet and looked like he was trying to catch up on some sleep.  No doubt he gets tired of all the people that watch him every day

More Highway Driving

It was just about two weeks ago since I went to see mom. Here are a couple more sky photos from the drive.

It was a bit cloudy as you can see in the pics but that day the temperatures soared to 33 degrees Celsius by mid-to- late afternoon.  Since then they have been experiencing temperatures in the low 30s.Today it was 31 degrees.I much prefer the temperatures where I am now since it has cooled off a lot.

The day ended with a lovely sunset.

Short update:  My friends in Kenya have now got the travel visa to travel to Toronto Canada and they will arrive sometime next week.

Continue to pray for this group of travelers: for all their needs to be met, for a safe journey and for a successful surgery for Baby Fidelis. I am so excited for her and her family. Soon she will be able to resume a normal life free of pain and discomfort.

Photo Credit: Hope Foundation for Orphans, Kenya

My friend's mother, Eunice is still at the missions hospital but now on an outpatient basis to save money. She is recovering but needs continued monitoring. Her nose bleeding has slowed. Please pray for her complete recovery (typhoid and high blood pressure), ability to meet the medical costs and discharge very soon.

Thanks so much for your support.

I'm joining in somewhat belatedly with Skywatch Friday today. 

Have a look there for some awesome skies from around the world.

This and That

I've fallen behind in my reading goals for the year so have been trying to make up for it.

I've just finished reading London which is well over 1000 pages. This was my third book and perhaps the longest book by Edward Rutherfurd.  Maybe it only seems like the longest because it took me much longer to read it than the other two books (New York and Paris). London didn't quite meet my expectations. It started out strong and finished with a whimper. The book spans 2000 years and I admire a writer who tries to take on such a project even if the effort was not entirely successful.

Alexander McCall-Smith is a prolific writer and has written several different series of books; each of  which are vastly different.  I've read many books from his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, all of which are set in Botswana, Africa. These are my favourite books from this author.   I have also read a few books from a few of his other series. I like them a little less but they are a decent read on a quiet afternoon.  None of his books take much time to read and they add to the sense of accomplishment  toward one's reading goals *wink.

I don't tend to read diet books but I like to learn about tips and tools to help engender a true lifestyle change.  This book is a good addition to the knowledge base and is so easy to read. In addition to the 20 "skinny rules" there are plenty of  menus and recipes all of which fall within the parameters of the author's rules.  I borrowed this book from the library and would need to purchase a copy if I hope to use the recipes in future.  However the author has another book which is made solely of recipes that fit within the "skinny rules".  That book might be more useful.

My current read is this biography of the great writer Charles Dickens. I don't know about you but I haven't read as many of Mr. Dickens' books as I would like.  I grew up watching old black and white movies based on many of his books. Great classics such as:  "A Christmas Carol","David Copperfield", "Great Expectations" and "A Tale of Two Cities". One of my favourite books of his is "The Old Curiosity Shop" but I don't recall seeing a movie based on it.

Before I finish the biography I will get started on the next two books (below).  I  came across them during a recent foray into a book shop. I was there to check out Harper Lee's newly released novel "Go Set a Watchman".

I don't purchase too many books these days but I wanted to check the price of Harper Lee's newly released book "Go Set a Watchman".  Since my visit to the book store I've placed a hold on it at my local library. There are several hundred people on the hold list so it will be at least 6 months before the book finds it's way to me.

It''s okay because I've got so many books that I already own that I can read in the meantime. I am constantly adding books to my "to read" list.  Many of these don't take so long to get once I place them on hold.  I also pick up interesting looking books off the shelves whenever I make a trip to the library. So you see, I am never without reading material.

Other than reading, I've been busy trying to revive my pansies which are mostly now on their last legs due to the heat wave we've been having all summer. I'm not sure if my efforts will work but they've given me a lot of pleasure over the summer with their beautiful colours. The geraniums are still doing well as are the petunias. The gladioli did bloom but  didn't do as well as I expected. Its the first time I've grown them. I think next year I will have to put stakes up to support them because they kept falling over the taller they go. Next year I want to grow sunflowers too and those grow even higher. My cherry tomatoes are now really starting to ripen in enough quantity to use in salads. Yum!

Last night there was a beautiful sky to the north of me so ran to get my camera. Normally we don't get nice colour in the skies to the north of me. We do get some beautiful sunsets here but in order to capture them I would have to be somewhere other than my home to get the right view of the western horizon.

I want to update that little Baby Fidelis had to undergo a medical assessment (Monday) in Nairobi, Kenya.  This is required as a step toward getting the visa to travel to Canada for surgery. Please continue to pray for this dear one and her advocate and her mother who are still hoping to be in Canada by middle August for the scheduled surgery.

Photo Credit: Hope Foundation for Orphans: Baby Fidelis & mother Martha

I also want to let you know that my friend's mom, Eunice, has been battling with typhoid fever. While she seemed to be recovering from typhoid fever she continued to experience mental confusion and heavy nose bleeds.  After being placed on different medications, she finally ended up in the missions hospital again.  This means going to the hospital a few hours away since the local hospital is incapable of diagnosing medical tests and they were perplexed by the issues. I had a sense that Eunice might be suffering from a secondary infection and needed help urgently. The American doctor at the missions hospital indeed found that Eunice had a bladder infection and said it was good she was brought in before sepsis set in.  It has taken a bit longer to get control of the nose bleeds caused by high blood pressure.  I just had word this morning that Eunice is much improved. Please pray for complete recovery and ability to pay the hospital bills.

Wishing each of you a wonderful week ahead.

I'm joining in this week with Our World Tuesday

Expansive Sky

English Bay Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia

Joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

Have a great weekend everyone and

a wonderful start to the month of August.

A Thoughtful Gift & A Pleasant Walk

"I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun."
Charles Swindoll

Yesterday I had a package from my blogging friend John of John's Island.  We have been friends for awhile now and have come to find we enjoy certain things that speak to simple pleasures in life.  One of those is coffee.

John lives in Seattle and I live in Vancouver. Both of our cities share similar weather patterns and the residents of both simply love their coffee. Do you think it has anything to do with all the rain both of our cities get over the winter months?

My wonderful care package; coffee mug included.

This morning I enjoyed my first cup of these "new to me" coffee. It was very nice!I even got a wonderful mug showing the Seattle Skyline.

It is a dark roast and I usually drink medium roast but I enjoyed this coffee very much. I even drank it black when I normally take cream. 

Receiving the gift was a lovely thoughtful gesture.

You meet some of the nicest people through blogging.

Most of  my regular viewers will know that we've been having a very hot summer
this year with little rain to speak of. One can see the dry grasses everywhere in a city that is known for lush greenery.

Still you can't beat the walks along the waterfront.

 

Joining in with Our World Tuesday