Happy Easter to you all.

Our phone tower was out for 2 days, so I didn't have a chance to talk to Darline until this afternoon, but wanted to give you an update because I probably won't write to you all again until Monday evening.

Darline and Erlande are still in the hospital. I asked her how Erlande was and she said, fine. No temp, eating good. I asked her why she was still there and she said that she still has an infection in her blood, which I take to mean that her white cell count is still too high. She said that the doctor wanted her count to be lower before he would let her go home. Okay, all you medical people, I probably didn't hear the number right and I'm not even sure what the number is for, but she said it had to be 10,000 before she could go home and it was 14,000. It had been 18,000, so it was coming down, but was not low enough... Do you all think we are talking white cell count? or what? Anyway, she hope that by Monday they can come home, but we'll have to wait and see. She is still getting shots...and Iron. It is not Sickle Cell Anemia, she said she asked the doctor and he said, No. So she is relieved and so am I, I had thought of it, but didn't even want to go there and our friend who has been a doctor in Haiti for many years said that she didn't have the symptoms for it, so he highly doubted that she had it. Which was a relief.

Anyway, I still have no idea why the infection or where it is, but Darline keeps saying that the Doctor says Erlande's mother gave it to her when she was born. Who knows what that means, ha! At any rate, she is getting better, but will be there until the infection is gone.

I told Darline that I was sorry she had to be there over Easter, because Easter is a special Sunday here. She said it was fine, it was where God wanted her to be and it would be okay. We'll see her on Monday when we go into Jeremie again, maybe even bring her home. I need to take her more money for medicine and stuff that she will need to pay for. We'll see what she says then.

Bouki was supposed to have his neutering surgery today, so we didn't let him have anything to eat when he got up...he asked many times, but I kept telling him no...he was not a happy puppy and he told me all about it. However, at 10:00, our phones came back on and the vet left us a message. I called him and he can't come until next Friday. Bouki was very relieved and very happy to eat!

Steve brought back tons of wonderful stuff that was on the container. Got our solar oven....and it's raining of course, so will have to wait for a nice, sunny day to try it out. Luckily we won't have to wait very long. Will let you know how it works. Should be very interesting. It also had 1 of the Christmas trees on it! And tons and tons of wonderful food and goodies. We are now stocked up with Peanut Butter, mayonnaise, olives, Mac & cheese, fruit, snacking nuts, relish...and many, many other things. Our table was over flowing with wonderful food stuff. Bouki was happy there were treats for him too! Happy Dog! Thank you everyone for filling the bins and blessing us with food! It's like shopping at Costco, only more fun!

We pray you have a wonderful, blessed Easter and that you are able to spend time with your families and friends. May God continue to bless you all and keep you safe. We are thankful for your prayers, your love and your support!

Joline & Steve

Hi,

Really just a short update on Erlande....and it's a good one. Erlande came home today and Darline said she was soooo happy to be home. We went into Jeremie this morning, so we went by the hospital to see what was going on. Erlande saw me...and grinned at me and put her hand out!!!! Praise God...she was so much better than last week! A whole different little girl! Amazing and wonderful. I asked Darline to bring her into the hall so we could talk without the entire ward listening in! When she did, Erlande kept leaning forward and giving me kisses, then touching me face. Made me sooo happy, she was so sweet and looked so good. The Doctor still says that she needs some antibiotics and that she may have had a severe case of Typhoid. Darline can't figure that out especially since she boils all of her water. The doctor is still saying that the infection had to do with her mother at birth...but we can't figure it out and there is no name. I did make sure that Darline had gotten a HIV test for Erlande. Darline smiled and said yes, twice. Once when she was littler and then this time when she first got sick, it was negative both times. I was concerned about that when the doctor kept saying her mother gave it to her! Anyway, another sigh of relief. So, we can't figure out what this mysterious disease is that her mother supposedly gave her, guess it doesn't matter.

Darline called me at about 4:30, said they were home and very happy. She said that she got some Amoxicillin and some iron supplements for her to take. All in all, she is looking very good and healthy after 2 weeks in the hospital.

Thank you all for your prayers, you love and you fantastic e-mail support! As always, you guys are so vital to what we do here, thank you!

Will be sending new pictures of Erlande when I can....

Much love to you all,

Joline

Hi,

Yesterday was Erlande's first birthday...4-9-10.....what a wonderful day. There isn't usually much of a celebration, no cakes, not much of anything. I had told Darline that I had some small presents and wanted to do a cake, but then yesterday Bouki had his Neutering Operation! So was too occupied to go and visit. I went today instead. We didn't make it a big deal, actually none of the family was there, just Darline, Erlande, myself and Vilex. Which was fine. Randy (and Jill) will be bringing stuff when Randy visits in May, it will be more of a celebration. But, since I am Erlande's Godmother, it was important for me to help her celebrate her first year of life, especially since she has been so sick.

She is such a beautiful little girl...and so happy now. Before she was sick, I couldn't hold her, she would cry and turn to Darline. For whatever reason, now that she is feeling better, I'm an okay person! It is really fun. She opened her presents...and I had taken one of the Beeny Babies that had been donated...a multi-colored cat...figured it was something she would recognize. Oh my gosh! When the package was opened...she cried out and moved back and pushed it away. It was so funny, would not have a thing to do with it! She was much happier playing with the package of hair barrettes that were many, bright colors! I made cupcakes, instead of a cake...put 1 candle in 1 of them. So after she opened her presents....we showed her the cupcakes.....we put her finger in the frosting on one...and put it in her mouth...her eyes lit up!!! That's all it took to get her interested in her first taste of cake. It was a strawberry mix with white frosting and it was a hit!!!! Darline fed her part of it...and she was all smiles. Then she decided to put some on her finger and feed me!!! Of course I had to make a lot of "yummmmm" noises, which made her smile! It was fun and when it was time to go, she held out her hands to me...so I carried her outside, this is really the first time she has asked to do that! Made my heart sing! Then she saw Vilex on the moto and decided maybe she would just go home with me! ha! Uh, no!

It was a wonderful afternoon.....just wanted to share it with all of you since you have been praying for this little angel for almost a month! God has something special planned for her, it will be fun watching it unfold!

Thank you again for all of your prayers and love for this beautiful little girl!

Love,

Joline