They Are Waiting For You – Angola Day 23
Thursday, August 8th, 2013 |
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 […]
What’s Your Diagnosis? – Angola Day 22
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013 |
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 […]
Calling Health Researchers – Angola day 21
Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 |
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 […]
Passionate Personnel – Angola Day 20
Monday, August 5th, 2013 |
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 […]
Born Blind, And Now Seeing – Angola Day 19
Sunday, August 4th, 2013 |
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 […]
Cancer Extraordinaire – Angola Day 17
Friday, August 2nd, 2013 |
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 […]
From Practice Despair To Worldwide Care
Thursday, August 1st, 2013 |
“Maybe it’s time I pursue the career I dreamed of…” Tim Kubacki was once director of a hospital emergency department in the United States. Now he’s the sole physician for some one hundred thousand people in Angola, the lowest income nation in Africa from where I am writing today. I met Dr. Kubacki two […]
“Come Join Us!” – Angola Day 16
Thursday, August 1st, 2013 |
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 […]
