Children of the Plains

I've been seeing all these ads for ABC's Children of the Plains. And I wanted to watch it so bad! But this past weekend, we were so busy! I knew I wouldn't be home. Thank goodness for DVRs.

I finally got to watch this special, last night. And I cried. I cried like no other! What a sad, sad story. I can't believe people still live like this. I shouldn't be that surprised. For years, Patrick and I, lived in a southwestern border town. We saw so much poverty. Poverty that you'd expect to see in another country. Right here.

Patrick and I also worked at the "Community Hospital." It wasn't unusual to see patients, who couldn't afford basic healthcare. Heck, lots of them couldn't afford food. I remember one family in particular. Their daughter had broken her arm at school. It was a pretty bad break. Her parents and siblings were staying the night with her. We had managed to get her a private room. Brought in some blankets and pillows. Our surgery was scheduled for early the next morning. Something like 3 or 4 in the morning.

But what I remember was, dinner. We had just gotten them into their room. I didn't understand them. At the time, I barely understood Spanish. The little girl was on some pain meds. And didn't want to eat. Her little sisters quickly jumped at the idea of eating her dinner. There were 3 of them.

When I came back, to check our patient, I couldn't help but notice, the older siblings looked hungry. The entire tray was completely cleaned. I wondered out to the hallway. And I found a diet aide. Asked if we had any extra trays. Which is normal for the peds units. We get lots of kids who don't want to eat. Usually because of the treatment that they're getting. We found 5 trays that hadn't even been delivered. And we took them to the room.

Not only that, but I brought in a few fruit plates. This family was so excited. They ate. Shared everything together. And the little bit of food that was left over, the mom neatly packed it up. And asked if there was a place she could save it. This was the first time I'd really seen "real hunger."

Patrick and I were both working this case. And Patrick knows Spanish. After the kids were all asleep, the dad came out to talk to Patrick. He was seriously worried. Worried that he couldn't pay the bill. But he knew that his daughter needed the help. Worried about how much he'd owe for the meal, that his family had just had. Worried that  he wouldn't be able to pay for the follow-up care, that we knew would be needed.

We all felt bad. Patrick guaranteed this man, that we'd do everything we had to. To make his daughter 100% again. After all of that, the medical bills would be dealt with. We'd help him find a way. All the food, don't worry, we'd find a way to account for that. He believed us. And Patrick was on his way, to find a way, to make this work.

Hours later, the surgery was a success. We'd also had contacted a local donor to the hospital. Who agreed to take care of the bill. And the team, we got together, and found the family some help. You see, most of us were residents. We all lived in tiny apartments, with 5-6 figure debt, and little money. I went into this a while back. But we wanted to make a difference.

We contacted some builders, and volunteered our time. We spoke to donors, and collect food.  Less than 6 months, after this little girl's surgery, the family, and many people from the hospital, were building a new house. This large family, had shared a 2 bedroom home. With dirt floors, a leaky roof, and no insulation in the walls.

With a communities help, we got this family going. A new home. 3 bedrooms. Nothing crazy or fancy. But it was functional. Had a working stove, heating, walls, floors, it was safe. Lots of people came together. We were making a difference. And it felt good.

The sad part is, this is just one story. One family. One patient. In a sea of people. In a community were poverty is commonplace. We lived in a community were kids didn't go to school, because they couldn't afford supplies. And uniforms. A place were kids only ate at school. Where you'd see parents working 2 jobs a piece, but still couldn't afford electricity and food. When temperatures dipped, people didn't know what to do.



This special, it just brought everything flooding back. To those days. When I'd see poverty daily. When your heart broke, just because of the people you met. When you knew, you were doing everything you could. But somehow, it felt like it wasn't enough. It was tough.

I applaud ABC. Their work on this, was phenomenal! I don't think people realize, just how much poverty is right here. Here in the USA. Not just in Mexico, or Africa. But right here. In our country. Our children are going hungry. Our citizens, are barely surviving. This story, about these amazing children, just broke my heart. There has to be a way, to make communities like this, prosper. We need to find a way, to truly help these people. To make a real difference in their lives.