Nicholas Comninellis

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2013 Angola

2013 Angola

They Are Waiting For You – Angola Day 23

  Seventy patients were waiting for care today as I departed the Lubango Evangelical Medical Center to fly back to INMED headquarters in the United States. These people suffer most commonly from malaria, TB, pneumonia, HIV, typhoid fever, schistosomiasis, uncontrolled diabetes, and a litany of orthopedic trauma. Who will come to their assist? This healthcare […]

2013 Angola

What’s Your Diagnosis? – Angola Day 22

  Yesterday in clinic I was approached by this lady, who described a painless mass growing on the left side of her face for 8 months. She’d never consulted a doctor about this. Her general health history was unremarkable. No fevers, weight loss, or unusual sensation of her head or neck. On exam, the mass

2013 Angola

Calling Health Researchers – Angola day 21

  This young lady, who gave me permission to photo her, felt desperate to bear a child. In Angolan cultural – as in much of the world – having children is not only a means to security in older ago, but also a measure of one’s femininity or masculinity. In her anguish to become pregnant

2013 Angola

Passionate Personnel – Angola Day 20

  What components are necessary to promote health in a low-resource setting? Money, drugs, vaccines, facilities often come to mind. But in my experience the most vital but elusive of them all is passionate and prepared personnel – the people who bring actual life to lofty intentions. Here let me introduce Sam Fabiano. He’s an

2013 Angola

Born Blind, And Now Seeing – Angola Day 19

  This nine-year young girl was born with congenital cataracts and entirely blind only until this year. That’s when her mother brought the girl to Boa Vista – the eye hospital on the Angolan coastal city of Benguela. John Clements, a fellowship trained American ophthalmologist is pictured her beside her. He operated on the first

2013 Angola

Cancer Extraordinaire – Angola Day 17

  This child presented several months ago with weakness of his legs, incontinence, and imbalance. Steve Foster recognized these classical signs of a cerebellar brain lesion. Here in this city – for a very high price – the family acquired a CT of their boy’s head that indeed revealed a brain tumor and hydrocephalus. Under

2013 Angola

“Come Join Us!” – Angola Day 16

  Would you like to come join us? The personnel needs are ubiquitous, both for those with particular healthcare qualifications and for others with skills in administration. But regardless of your background, you must first come with the attitude of a learner. What’s to be acquired? Cross-cultural skills, language, new healthcare systems, new public health

2013 Angola

Cross-Cultural Compassion – Angola Day 15

  One beauty of Jesus’ account of the Good Samaritan is the virtue it demonstrates of a person reaching beyond the prevailing social norms and barriers; a virtue applicable to any particular community across the world. This sketch is here in the entryway at Lubango Evangelical Medical Centers. Have you read the account recently? Take

2013 Angola

Surprise Survivor – Angola Day 14

  I’m pictured here with Sapolo, a man of forty-five whom I first cared for a week ago. His pneumonia, the leading cause of death in low-income nations, was at that time severe. In spite of oxygen and antibiotic Sapolo’s chest weaved more greatly and his alertness declined as the oxygen to his brain diminished.

2013 Angola

Who Is Comforting Who? – Angola Day 13

  Last night I received an urgent call from our head nurse. Sónia, a girl of seven, was suffering worse respiratory distress. And suddenly, she began coughing up pus from the abscess in her neck. I was very familiar with Sónia, having admitted her four days earlier with severe cough, fever, and pneumonia. We have

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