Image by Juanita Foucault from Pixabay
By Jo Pendelton
Jessica, the lead pediatric social worker at University Hospital, called me a few weeks ago about Eveline and her son Santiago, a ten-year-old with severe cerebral palsy. Santiago—weighing only 50 pounds and unable to eat solid food—was starving.
They had no family or friends in the U.S. and ICE had given them a check-in appointment in Miami. Dr. Rachel Pearson expressed her hope that they might remain in San Antonio to continue treatment at University Hospital, but after five days and many tries, we were unable to find suitable hospitality for them, and the hospital discharged them to the San Antonio Migrant Resource Center, Centro de Bienvenida.
At Eveline’s request, they were sent to New York. Before leaving the Centro de Bienvenida, she called me to ask for money for a taxi from the airport to a shelter, and I gave her the $60 that I had.
In NY, they were eventually taken to a hotel, NYC Row Hotel, 700 8th Avenue, room 1834. Eveline said that they were receiving meals, but that Santiago couldn’t eat solid or even soft food and was losing more weight. She’d been trying to feed him like a mother bird.
I contacted my cousin in Manhattan who bought and delivered a case of Pediasure (used and recommended by University Hospital) to them. Dr. Pearson contributed to another case, which my sister received via Amazon. I also contacted one of my former pastors who is now at Plymouth Church in Queens, NY, a church that actively helps arriving immigrants. They are helping Santiago to get Medicaid and other social services, such as the PATH (a global health nonprofit), team TLC, Little Shop of Kindness, Ryan Health (a free community health center), and Metro Baptist Church.
Meanwhile, a friend at Jubilee Partners in Comer, Ga.—who was concerned because the church didn’t have the capacity to help when I asked—did a lot of research. They eventually found someone affiliated with Bruderhof Communities, which provides expensive adaptive wheelchairs, to go and assess Santiago’s needs and put a wheelchair request into motion. Eveline has always had to carry him in her arms, which is both difficult and dangerous. I can’t even imagine doing that through the Darien Gap!
When I think of our very limited capacity—how we thought we couldn’t do anything to help, but then this mélange of compassion sprang up around this mother and child—I get misty. All I can say is WOW!
