Perhaps you have seen pictures of Mamoune and Tafana posted previously on our Facebook page. Mamoune is a “strong, determined, beautiful, sweet” woman who found herself homeless in Haiti, which meant she and her daughter, Tafana, slept under trees in Gressier. Then another ministry built a little one-room house for them, and Source of Life Ministries gave Mamoune a job cleaning and accepted responsibility for supporting Tafana. Mamoune is a very faithful, hard worker with a beaming smile. Tafana spends her days at the safe house and nights at home with Mamoune. She’s quiet, thankful, gentle-spirited and another sister to our Source of Life children.
The Journey Began
On the afternoon of July 3, Jacques received word that Tafana was sick with a fever and was vomiting. Later, Jacques received a video of Mamoune’s neighbor carrying Tafana’s limp body to Source of Life; it was obvious she was very sick. At his instruction, Marie-Ange (the staff member who usually handles doctor’s visits for our children) took Tafana to a doctor. After initial tests, the doctor said that there was some type of bacteria in her stomach. Tafana was admitted to a small hospital in Lèogâne where they were doing more tests to find out what kind of bacteria was in her system.
The next day, we posted pictures and the video on our Facebook page and asked everyone to “pray for this precious child to be restored to health in Jesus’ name!” In the next couple days, it became clear that Tafana was in grave condition and that she was in need of much prayer. The Facebook posts are shared below.
The Journey Continued
July 5
Please continue to pray for Tafana.
This picture of her in the hospital was received today. There is no update yet regarding her condition, but it is very clear from the picture that she is not well.
Father, we pray for healing for Tafana in Jesus’ name. We pray that her body will fight against the bacteria. We pray that the doctor will be directed by You. We look to You to lead each one of us as we continue in prayer….
July 7
Friends, please continue to pray for healing for Tafana. There is still no diagnosis and no improvement to her condition.
Mamoune (her mother) has been staying with her. It is always important for a family member to stay with a patient when they are in a hospital in Haiti. Hospitals are not well-staffed like hospitals in the USA. Marie-Ange stayed with Tafana last night to give Mamoune a break and is staying again tonight.
July 8
6:42 am
“Please, please PRAY for Tafana. She is not doing well and doctors still CANNOT determine what is going on. She is getting worse. PLEASE PRAY!! Please, post a plea for God’s intervention. This is the only child Mamoune (her mother) has.” – Jacques Merine
7:05 am
I just learned the hospital released Tafana. That’s not good news. They usually do that when there is no hope to survive. PLEASE PRAY!!! – Jacques Merine
1:00 pm
Marie Ange, Harold and Sony took Tafana and Mamoune to Diquini hospital right above Carrefour. We are waiting for word to know whether the hospital will admit her. Pray for divine intervention!
3:28 pm
The Diquini hospital admitted Tafana and diagnosed the infection as “Pylori.” Keep praying!
July 9
8:59 pm
URGENT Prayer is Needed for Tafana!!!
Her condition is very grave.
The following are the details being relayed:
The original hospital and the hospital in Diquini where she is now both identified the same bacteria in her system, which is Pylori. She is being given fluids and antibiotics by IV. However her condition is far worse than the descriptions of Pylori.
Tafana has been unable to eat for many days. In the last couple days, neither her kidneys nor bowels have functioned, her jaw is locked, and she has apparently been experiencing seizures.
Tafana is in one of the best known hospitals in Haiti and is being seen by one of the most well known doctors in the area, but testing capacities are very limited in Haiti. They plan to do a CT scan of her brain to try to determine why her jaw is locked.
Pray for the miracle working power of Almighty God to deliver the life of this child from the jaws of death in the mighty name of Jesus!!!
July 10
9:48 am
Harold & Marie-Ange are on their way to take Tafana to the radiology lab in Port au Prince to try to get a CT scan. Please pray for their safety. “PaP is not a safe place for human beings to be right now, but we want to do whatever it takes to serve Tafana.” If the CT cannot be done there, they will go to a hospital on the other side of PaP next. Pray for safety & God to open doors!
9:41 pm
Thank you to everyone for continued prayer!
Here in the USA, it is hard to imagine what it is like to get health care in Haiti. Can you imagine having to personally drive a hospitalized, gravely ill family member to find somewhere that a CT scan can be done? No ambulance to take her… No vital signs monitored in route… No medical equipment to keep her stable… Nothing coordinated by the hospital… Driving for hours through dangerous areas to reach a radiology unit, not knowing whether they will be able to perform the test, or whether you will need to travel further to a hospital that might be able to perform the test… And when you arrive, if you do not have the money in-hand, no test will be performed!
Gratefully, Harold, Marie-Ange, Mamoune, and Tafana arrived safely today to the lab in Port au Prince, and the lab was able to perform the CT scan. We thank God! After the scan was completed, Harold returned Tafana to the hospital in Diquini. The results of the scan will not be available until Monday. Harold will need to return to the lab on the same dangerous stretch of road with additional money in-hand to pay for the results.
We are thankful that God has opened the doors and given us the ability to do everything medically possible to help Tafana. She could not be in any better hospital in Haiti than the one she is in. The doctor who is caring for her is a well known qualified doctor who has been practicing medicine at the Diquini hospital in Haiti for many years. We thank God for opening the door for Tafana to be treated by him.
So far, Tafana’s condition has not improved. Most of the time, she is not conscious, and today she developed a very high fever. She has had seizures and has not eaten for many days; her jaw is locked, and her kidneys and bowels are not functioning. Medically, we have been told there are no other options to help her. We have to place her in God’s hands, continue praying for a miracle, and know that God knows better than all of us.
Please continue interceding before God’s throne for Tafana, and, of course, pray for her precious mother, Mamoune.
July 13
7:08 pm
Hopeful Update on Tafana:
You have probably already looked at the picture before you started reading this and see that Tafana awakened today for the first time and tried to smile! She responded when Marie-Ange spoke to her and seemed to understand. The hospital was able to give nourishment to her through IV.
Source of Life staff picked up the CT results this afternoon and delivered them to the hospital in Diquini; however the doctor has not talked to Mamoune and Marie-Ange yet. The only thing we know is that the CT scan revealed there is a tumor somewhere in her head. The doctor said he will be able to talk to them tomorrow.
We will keep you updated. Keep praying!!!
July 14
9:40 pm
Tafana was about the same today as yesterday, but we honestly do not have any update. Today when Marie-Ange asked about the CT report, the doctor said he does not deal with that and gave her the name and number of another doctor in Port au Prince. Tomorrow Harold will drive to PaP and pay another doctor to hopefully explain the results of the scan.
This is an example of the difficulties faced every day in Haiti! Please keep praying for healing, safety, wisdom, strength, & comfort.
July 16
11:18 am
We give all glory and honor to God!!! “In 12 days, this is the best day I’ve seen Tafana have! I cannot tell you the joy it brought to my heart when I received these pictures and video! Tafana was able to eat food, and her bowels moved for the first time in 11 days. We give God glory!!! Only He is worthy to be praised!” – Jacques Merine, director
Update:
Yesterday, Sony went to the hospital to stay with Tafana and Mamoune so Marie-Ange could go to Port au Prince to the next doctor. The doctor explained to Marie-Ange that Tafana needs to have surgery because she has a tumor in the back of her head. It is large and growing. He said that if she does not receive surgery soon, she will die.
Next step:
The doctor did not give full details to Marie-Ange because Mamoune (Tafana’s mother) was not at the appointment. So there is another appointment for the doctor to give Mamoune all the details on Friday. Note: Mamoune is not able to understand and relay information and instructions from the doctors, so it’s important for Marie-Ange to always be with Mamoune.
Difficulties in travel:
The location of the doctor’s office was very difficult to locate yesterday and was a completely unknown area to Harold. There are many large holes in roads in Haiti that need to be dodged while driving in heavy traffic. On the way to the doctor’s office, our vehicle fell into an uncovered storm drain. (Storm drains are often in the middle of the road and are supposed to be covered, but the cover had been stolen from this one.) Thankfully Harold was able to pay people to help get the vehicle out of the hole, but Jacques has not received word yet on whether there was damage to the vehicle.
Medical costs for Tafana:
In Haiti, hospitals provide no medical care unless they are paid up front; medical insurance does not exist. Source of Life Ministries is covering all of the expenses for Tafana: daily costs for the hospital, medicine, tests, CT scan, travel, etc. We are doing everything medically possible to help her and sparing no expense. To date, the costs have been $3,115. If you would like to give toward the expenses, you may give through our website or by check. Please be sure to make note that the donation is for “Tafana’s care.”
Thank you:
We thank EVERYONE who has been praying for Tafana!!! To think that the first hospital gave-up on her and discharged her is sad (but sometimes typical in Haiti). Praise God Jacques did not stop fighting on her behalf, and God opened the door for her to be admitted into the hospital in Diquini. We need your continued prayers for the path ahead as we seek to find help for her and make decisions!
We will keep you posted when new information is available.
July 17
12:50 pm
Can you believe this is the same little girl that was unconscious last week?? She is on her way with her mother, Marie-Ange, and Harold to see the doctor.
Keep praying!!! We’ll post when we have more information to share!
July 18
5:29 pm
Update and Specific Prayer Requests:
What a joy to see that Tafana is conscious, smiling and able to eat! We praise God! Yesterday, the doctor in Port au Prince did an initial exam of Tafana and gave his preliminary recommendations, but he said he would not have a definite plan until after she goes through more tests.
We know that she has a tumor on the left side of her brain and there is fluid that will need to be removed. Things he mentioned were biopsy, chemotherapy, & surgery.
Requests:
Continue to pray for complete healing in Tafana’s body. We praise God for major improvements but also realize she has a long road ahead in dealing with the tumor, and the left side of her body is completely paralyzed.
Please pray for wisdom and supernatural guidance and intervention. Currently Source of Life is in need of contacts who have experience with medical professionals in Haiti (or even the USA) regarding brain surgery. Decisions need to be made rather quickly because we are told she needs surgery very soon….
….However the only thing we know about the doctor who was consulted is that the pediatrician from the hospital referred Tafana to him. His qualifications are completely unknown. Marie-Ange heard the doctor have a discussion with another doctor who was making suggestions to him. Among those suggestions was a question about referring Tafana to the Dominican Republic or Cuba. This creates a question in Jacques’ mind whether they consider Tafana’s condition too difficult for them. In Haiti, friends “help friends.” (Was Tafana referred to a friend or a capable surgeon?) These things make it very difficult for Jacques to distinguish through phone calls and messages being relayed whether this is a doctor to trust to do brain surgery. We believe Bernard Mevs Hospital in Haiti is the only one that has the capability of doing this surgery, and we are searching for ways to contact them directly.
Again, please pray for God to give wisdom and supernatural guidance and intervention, also specifically lift Jacques in prayer for strength as he seeks God’s help in making very difficult decisions!
July 20
Update on Tafana’s Journey:
Our sweet little friend was released from the hospital on Friday. Today she had blood drawn at the local hospital for numerous tests: hemogram, blood chemistry, sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, bleeding time, clotting time. These were the tests prescribed by the doctor who examined her on Friday. Hopefully the results will be available tomorrow.
A number of people have been helping research possible options in both Haiti and the USA. We asked you to pray for wisdom and supernatural guidance, and we can see that God is providing that! This past weekend, we were very encouraged to discover that the doctor Tafana was referred to is very well known and is recognized as “Haiti’s senior formally trained neurosurgeon.” Praise God; this is very reassuring!! While it is true that neurosurgery is more advanced in the USA, time-is-of-the-essence in getting treatment for Tafana. Therefore when the doctor in Haiti is ready to make his final recommendation, we also want to be ready to make our final decision, knowing that we have left no stone unturned.
We received a short video today that Marie-Ange made when she visited Tafana at home today. The ladies had a little fun with her as they tested her cognitive skills: asking her if she ate already or if she was hungry, telling her to touch her body and touch her head & mouth, asking her to stand, and asking her if she feels good. Although her left side is not functioning, she was able to stand on her own! And what a beautiful sight to see her bright smile!
Continue praying for healing in her body and clear direction for her medical care. We give God all the glory for all that He has done and is doing in her life and on her behalf!!!
The Journey Will Continue
On-going prayer support will be needed for Mamoune and Tafana, our director, Jacques Merine, and all who are supporting them on this journey.
Our most up-to-date posts can be found on Facebook. If you do not have a Facebook account, you can see Source of Life Facebook posts on our website! Scroll to the bottom of any page on our website or touch the “Social Media Feed” button at the top of the page, and you will be able to see all our Facebook posts.
If you would like to contribute toward Tafana’s medical expenses, you may give through our website or mail a check or money order to: TSM/Source of Life Ministries, c/o Jacques Merine, PO Box 96, Hanover, PA 17331. Please be sure to make note that the donation is for “Tafana’s care.”
When the Old Testament King Jehoshaphat received word that three armies had conspired and were coming against him in a massive assault, he resolved to seek God and called the people of Judah to come together to seek help from the Lord. His prayer is the pattern that is being followed as Source of Life walks this journey with Tafana. Please continue praying with us!
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
– 2 Chronicles 20:12