Mphatso

Mphatso was our very first baby and is very dear to us and to all our nannies.  Mphatso’s father is HIV positive and his mother was too.  We had him tested at 5 months and he also was HIV positive.  Until a baby is 18 months old he is not truly positive as it could be only his mother’s antibodies that are still in his body.  A DNA test can be done to determine their true status but that wasn’t available here in Malawi.  Instead you would just wait until the child is 18 months, do another rapid test and if positive then they are truly positive.

Mphatso has always been a fat and happy baby and didn’t have the other problems that most HIV babies have.  When I took him to a pediatric HIV clinic the doctor said he had never seen a baby so fat in the clinic and he had an awful time getting blood from his chubby little hands.  We have been hoping and praying that he would not be HIV positive once he reached 18 months (right now he is 15 months).

Baylor University doctors are here in Mzuzu and have started a program where you can bring any baby in and have them tested with the rapid test and then if positive with that they take blood to perform a DNA test which will tell the true status of a child.  Previously the hospitals and AIDS clinics would not test my babies and I had to take them to a private doctor.  The importance of testing babies here was previously ignored as you can give babies the ARV drugs right away instead of waiting and it also helps when a child is sick as to how you need to treat them.

Today I took Mphatso and Adam, one of our twins, to the clinic for testing.  We were hoping that if Mphatso was negative we could try and find an adoptive home for him now instead of waiting until he’s 18 months.  He was negative and we are overjoyed.  In the midst of these past few weeks this is a bright spot in our lives.  We can now look for a home as we have some families who are waiting for babies.  Please pray that a family will take him and he can have a real family forever.

            Lisa