Tragedy, Bravery and Little Mentok
In February, tragedy struck when a 2-year-old girl fell into a vat of boiling stew meant for the family’s animals. With unimaginable bravery, Mentok pulled herself out and screamed for her mother.
Desperate, her parents sought help from local traditional healers and health workers, but it wasn’t enough. A local doctor warned that to save her life, they needed to go to the city—a four-to-six-day hike from their remote South Asian village. Terrified, her parents hesitated. Burn victims in their region often die or face amputation, and if their daughter lost her legs, she could never return home as she would become a burden to her family and community. The parents, already raising four boys, also faced the stigma that a sick child is a punishment for past lives.
Critical Decisions
Almost two agonizing weeks after the accident, Mentok’s mother carried her for six days on the harrowing journey to seek better care. Finally, they reached the only burn hospital in the country, where the little girl arrived critically ill with 40% of her body burned and in septic shock.
“She went to the burn hospital, but nobody there spoke their language. [The family] did not know what was going on and didn’t see her getting better, so they took her home for [local] rituals. When her anklebone started poking out and she had a fever, they consulted [a local doctor] who said, ‘Take her back or she will die.’ This is when [we were called],” MedSend Grant Recipient DB* explains.
MedSend Grant Recipient DB Joins the Fight
On March 31st, a friend of DB’s messaged her: “I wanted to ask you about a two-year-old girl who fell into a pot of hot soup in a [remote village]. I think it happened a month or more ago. Her parents are hopeless and feel helpless. I can send photos; they are quite scary. Can you help?”
DB prayed and asked her friend to gather more information.
The next day DB received this text: “The baby’s heart is not well, and she has low oxygen and a fever today. They say the infection is in her blood. Can you come?”
DB instructed her friend to tell the family to do everything they could to get Mentok admitted to the ICU at the burn hospital. They needed to ask for approval to receive care for free due to their financial status.
Two hours later, DB heard back: “She got the free bed. She is in the ICU, just sitting in the bed. They aren’t doing anything for her, they gave her a vitamin. She doesn’t have the monitors on; the others in here do.”
It was obvious to DB they had given Mentok a free bed to die in. In that moment, DB felt called to go and be Mentok’s voice and see how she could help.
Fighting for Mentok’s Life
“We advocated for Mentok, pleading for infections to go away, and for [the doctors] not to amputate her legs but to just wait and see what can happen. They put on skin grafts, mostly at our request, and the doctor said, ‘We will give them a week and see—if they don’t take, we will amputate.’ We prayed and trusted, and a week passed,” DB shares.
“I got an immediate text message from one doctor saying the grafts took at 94% and the open bones were no longer exposed. The burn surgeon told me, ‘We weren’t expecting much when we took her back there. We took her bandages off and all of us were shocked at what we saw. Her grafts took, she doesn’t need an amputation, we can’t explain what happened in those 7 days.’ Did you hear that?!” she says, amazed and in awe of how God is working.
Survival
The burn center was able to clean Mentok’s wounds and treat her infections, battling severe complications like pressure ulcers and malnutrition with scarce resources. Miraculously, she survived. DB knew she needed more miracles to not only survive, but truly live.
DB sent a message to the US hospital where she used to work, asking for supplies to keep Mentok alive. Her case was passed around among the doctors and sent to the CEO of a children’s burn unit in the US. They contacted DB to see if she thought the doctors in Mentok’s country would agree to transfer care to them. A Zoom meeting was scheduled, and the details were worked out, thanks to DB’s experience and network of support.
“The miracles happening in her life can only come from Him,” DB says. “We built a team consisting of a veterinarian, a new nurse grad, a dad of three boys, a mom of four girls, our local club leader, the local club, a local pediatrician, and over 15 countries of believers praying for her miracle! Miracles happen, and what is happening will have a huge ripple effect,” she believes.
Thanks to DB and her team’s tireless efforts on Mentok’s behalf, generous equipment donations have aided in her care, but her life still hangs in the balance. To truly heal without losing her legs, she desperately needs more specialized treatment.
“After many months and roller coasters, we have tickets [to the US]! We have a hospital! We have visas and passports! We have an amazing team of translators available to assist in the US,” DB says in early May of 2024. Later that month, Mentok, her mom, and aunt flew with DB and her family to America. DB served as the nurse on the flight.
Summer 2024 Update
DB reports that God has overcome every obstacle this young girl has come across in the past few months as she continues to fight for her life. The hospital in the US has been working on improving Mentok’s nutritional status and treating her multi-drug resistant bacterial infections to prepare her for further skin grafting and, eventually, rehab. The medical staff is hopeful that Mentok will be able to walk again someday.
DB and her husband were able to visit Mentok and her mother while in the US. During their visit, they noticed Mentok had gained two pounds, which is crucial for her little body to have the strength it needs to fight. Amazingly, God provided seven Tibetan-speaking people who have surrounded Mentok and her family, providing community and support for Mentok’s mother. A friend provided DB with audio stories from the Bible that she was able to share with Mentok’s mother, in her heart language.
“Mentok will be transferred to another hospital for their expertise in pediatric burns,” DB tells us. “Again, another transition, and He has provided. One of the doctors will fly her and her mom to this higher level of care. Mentok is in the best place for her to receive the best treatment. A 2-year-old girl, from one of the most remote places on earth, and He sees her. Just like He sees each of us,” she says.
MedSend’s Impact
This brave little girl’s fight for life is a testament to resilience and hope. Without the compassion and strength of those around her to help her fight, her story would have a very different ending.
Thanks to her MedSend grant, DB was there to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a precious life in danger of being discarded by others who were supposed to help her. This is the impact of MedSend in over 50 countries around the world today. God uses compassionate healthcare to heal bodies and save broken lives every day. Will you give today to help save the next Mentok?
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*Name withheld for protection
