Sinthia in a photo taken at the daycare. Notice that she is heavily sedated.

Saving Sinthia By Rodger and Pam Harrison, Paramedics For Children This is a follow up on the little girl Sinthia (pronounced Cynthia) Villes an abandoned Honduran a little 7 year old girl who is very ill and in need of our help. When I last spoke to you of this child Pam and I were trying keep the mother from leaving Cynthia behind to take a job in Guatemala. Well our worst fears came to pass. Last week a local day care center called and told us that Nora (Sinthia's mother) had dropped the child off with them 6 days earlier, and told them that Pam and I would pay the bill for her care. When Pam and I got over to the day care which was a very run down home we found Sinthia in a deplorable conditions. She had been over sedated to the point of unconsciousness and she was in a dark hot back room of the residence. The walls were block and she was lying on a filthy bed. The room reeked of urine and waste and there were cock roaches crawling across the walls. The people at the day care sensing that we were on the hook to pay for the child had made a pitiful attempt convince Pam and I that they were the ones to care for her. She was dressed in some kind of blue dress that was way to big for her and they had her lying on the bed arranged as if she were the number one child in the nursery. They were wanting us to pay 4 times the normal day care rate and promised that they would take care of all of Sinthia's needs. No words could describe the emotions that were raging in our hearts. However anger was not the solution.

Check and Checkmate. Pam and I now were facing a big problem. When the mother dropped the child off with the daycare she had in effect given them the right of primary care for this child. We quickly realized that unless we could find the mother there would be no way to save Sinthia. Children like Sinthia have no rights in Honduras. She was a "throw away kid", and for the people at the day care the only reason to keep her alive was to get money out of Pam and I for her care. As paramedics, Pam and I knew that Sinthia would not last long in this hot and smelly room while being double dosed on her seizure medications. Getting angry would not solve the problem, so we just smiled and said we would be back in touch. If we tipped our hands and let them know that we really cared for the child the price would go up and it would be more difficult to spring her from that awful place. There was only one solution, and that was to track down the mother and try to convince her to give us the caregiver rights for her child so that she could be rescued. The big problem was that we had no idea where to find the mother. The only lead we had on her was an uncle who lived in a small village about 10 miles away. Marco Tulio our trusted right hand man here at the Hacienda, went to the village and managed to track down the uncle and they in turn found the mother just minutes before she was getting ready leave for Guatemala. MT convinced her to return to our clinic and meet with us. When the mother arrived we had papers ready for her to sign. Thank God that we were able to convince her, and now Pam and I have Sinthia with us in our home here at Hacienda La Esperanza B&B. Pictures tell the story. We went to work by getting her a complete physical from our doctors and then cleaning her up and getting her sobered up and fed. In less then 24 hours the change in her condition was incredible. On this page are two pictures taken 24 hours apart. The first is a picture that I snapped of Sinthia to record her condition at the daycare center and the second one is taken at our home with Pam holding her on her lap the next day. "Amazing" is the only word to describe how well she is doing now. Sinthia needs our help. As God puts challenges before us all, it seems they come at some of the worst times. Pam and I are due to leave for Brazil with the Mission Society from July 1-20 to take courses on becoming missionaries. The thought of leaving this child is breaking our hearts. She is being well cared for at the moment but our funding is not enough unless we get some help. First comes the cost of hiring a person who will come live at our house on a full time basis with us to care for Sinthia. This would require us to hire two local women one for the day and one for the night. This cost would run about $300 per month. Food, clothing, and medicine and general medical care would run about $200 per month. Sinthia also needs to have her teeth cleaned along with a complete dental exam. Her teeth are in terrible condition and since she can't spit she has never had her teeth brushed. We have estimated that we will need at least $500 to solve this problem ( that is just a guess). She also needs clothing, a crib, and special bath facilities that need to be constructed.

Look at how much improvement a few days of good food and care can make. This is Sinthia just 3 days later.

A summery of her condition. Sinthia suffers from a rare condition called "West Syndrome". She can move her arms and legs, but can't talk or walk. She suffers from seizures and has to be watched and cared for 24 hours per day. She is a loving child who likes to be held. Pam and I discovered that she loves to ride in the Kawasaki Mule around the town. When the wind blows through her hair she just smiles and laughs. Each day we are seeing many changes in her as God works His miracles in her life. She is not nearly as retarded as we fist thought. As we get Sinthia more stabilized, we will be able start to plan more definitive treatment. If you would like to help I have set up an emergency fund called "Friends of Sinthia". You can contribute to this fund as a Super Supporter for PFC. To make the donation just go to our web site at www.ParamedicsForChildren.org and scroll down to the super supporter donations and select the amount you can afford to contribute. In the description just type in " A friend of Sinthia". Once you set up this contribution the money will be charged to your credit card every 30 days. As followers of Christ we know that a lot of folks giving a little can do so much to help this little girl. She is our cause and a part of our hearts, and Pam and I hope that she will become your cause and a part of your hearts as well. You can donate now if you like. Just click on your choice of the links below: Give $15 per month Give $25 per month Give $40 per month Give $50 per month Give $100 per month Back to PFC home page