Sweet Miss Tracy

Anyone who has ever meet Tracy, always says the same things:

“She’s beautiful!”

“Her story makes me cry.”

“What can we do to help her?”

The first two are absolutely correct. The third one:  you can read the rest of this blog to find out how.

Tracy was severely burned on the top of her head by her mother when she was about two years old.  Her mother would scrap the burns on her head raw and walk the streets, begging for money, using Tracy’s burns to gain people’s sympathy.  Her mother never used any money she got on Tracy or Tracy’s medical needs.  Even with the financial offer of help of a fellow missionary who was here in Kitale for over one year, Tracy’s mom, just wanted money.

Tracy eventually left that home and came to In Step.

Tracy got a skin graft done on her head shortly after coming to In Step. Unfortunately the graft didn’t stick and last year, it opened up and became a gaping hole in her head, which got infected and bigger as time went on.

Tracy's head at its worst

In November, In Step had arranged for Tracy to go Kijabe’s (a town outside of Nairobi) Cure Kids Hospital to see a doctor there about getting a skin graft done to cover this hole on her head.

The surgery was done and PRAISE our FATHER....the graft stuck and has completely healed. 

Tracy's head AFTER the skin graft

But this isn’t the end of the road for Tracy as there is still more work to be done.

As per Carla’s note:

The first of February, Tracy and Hoglah (our social worker) will move to Kijabe for a minimum of three months.  Tracy will be admitted into hospital for a surgical procedure to insert a balloon type device under her scalp.  After the initial recovery period, she and Hoglah will move into a local guest house, which will be their temporary home.

Once a week, Tracy will return to the hospital where the doctor will, little by little each week, fill the balloon with water.  As the balloon slowly expands, so will the skin on Tracy’s head.  After several weeks, the skin should be stretched out enough to be able to go back into surgery to kind of redistribute the skin to properly cover the scalp with healthy skin.  The hope is that this procedure will eliminate the need for Tracy to have multiple skin grafts throughout her life!

There is an urgency to start this procedure right away, while Tracy’s head is infection free and there are no open wounds!  The skin graft is very fragile!  All it would take to break loose would be another growth spurt or Tracy constantly scratching one itchy spot on her head!  We need to move forward while the graft is intact and Tracy’s scalp is completely closed and free of infection.

They are scheduled to leave for Kijabe on February 15^th to begin this process.

And this is where we need your help.

We are estimating that the total cost is going to be around $3,000.  This is $2,000 for the medical care for Tracy and $1,000 for food, lodging, transportation to/from the hospital and any additional necessities. 

We do not have extra money in our budget for something of this expense.

So, can you help Tracy?  Yes you can!

If you would like to donate toward Tracy’s surgery, follow the below options (based on Canada or the United States):

CANADA

Please send cheques to:

In Step Children’s Home

301 King Street East

Mount Albert ON

L0G 1M0

Please make cheques payable to “ASSISTS PROJECTS”.  In the memo line write: “In Step – Surgeries”.

UNITED STATES

Please send checks to:

Rehema Ministries

1117 3^rd Street

Anacortes WA

98221

Please make checks payable to “REHEMA MINISTRIES”.  In the memo line, write: “Surgeries”.

Or for online donations, click on the below link and go toward the middle of the page:

http://www.rehemainstep.com/getting-involved/donations-sponsorships/

Thank you everyone for your support.  We can’t even thank you enough.

Much Love,
Meredith