unlikely life and the kyle connection

A baby boy is today sleeping in his mother's arms in Johannesburg. Together, they are an unlikely pair. At times, the lives of both were deeply in question. His mother, living with AIDS, was at one time the owner of a CD4 count that was only slightly higher than that of a corpse. Somehow, she returned to health. Somehow, the almost barometric count rose, tripling in a matter of months. We are again hoping that she will be a survivior, that she will live a long life.

Her son, still only days old, was once a frequent concern. It was not that many months ago that he was the cause of an emergency visit to the hospital, his heartbeat almost nonexistent. The doctors all but said that the baby was no longer viable. We were left to wait for the inevitable bad news.

Yet, quietly, the pain the mother's stomach subsided. The baby's heartbeat returned. And the miracle of new life was realized in the middle of March 2008.

This baby is named Kyle. That is humbling. And so wonderful. We long for connections with our friends there. That baby boy, his mother, and her other children are the greatest connections imaginable.

We are responsible. One day, we will meet Kyle. I cannot wait.