Abundantly illustrative: Oscar Paulo and I, saying farewell at the International Airport in Lubango, southern Angola. I am returning to the US until I journey back next July. Oscar is soldiering on here in his home country. Let me give you a glimpse into the character of Oscar Paulo: Professional. Oscar completed specialty […]
“你们为什么在非洲？”是因为我们在这里工作！Twice this month I enjoyed caring for patients from China here at CEML Hospital. It’s an understatement that they express surprise to hear their native language spoken by a North American on location in southern Africa. The even greater surprise may be that they are even here to begin with, and here by the
“Your ambition is to make a career of medical missions? “No serious skills are necessary. “You don’t need to finish med school or even complete residency training. “Just go do it.” These were the skeptical words of one professor of mine some time ago. He made it clear that I was wasting my
Pictured here with me are 37 nurse practitioners from the rural clinics associated with Kalukembe Hospital – CEML‘s sister facility. Many of these health posts are not connected by road, function without electricity, and are chronically short supplied. Yet these are were most Angolans first present with obstructed labor, convulsions, cerebral malaria, and all
This woman’s loving son guided her into my consultation room, where she awkwardly sat down and began describing to me her persistent cough. During the conversation, she never once looked at me. In fact, her two eyes seemed to wander – and now always in union. After a few moments, I waved my hand
Not every person coming for consultation has a significant illness. Indeed, Angola has a striking number of worried well afflicted with simple body aches and allergy symptoms. But roughly every other individual I examine presents with a strange diagnosis or very advanced pathology. What is this fascinoma? A 35-year-old woman with a mass
Even after thirty years of communist indoctrination, today’s Angolan people remain inherently spiritual. They readily assure that there is indeed a God and exist powerful spiritual forces. To say otherwise, in this country, is folly. What’s more, even after the rapid exit of most all international Christians during the war years (1976-2002), indigenous Angolan
This 63-year young woman arrived at CEML Hospital 3 days ago with large, full-thickness pressure ulcers of her entire buttock and hips. She was febrile, unconscious, and with a leukocytosis. Her lower extremities were both flaccid and without reflexes. We immediately initiated sepsis treatment with IV fluid and antibiotic therapy. The patient’s family
The challenge of low resource healthcare includes not just lack of assets alone, but also the spectrum of diseases that are especially common in such settings. Today is illustrative: parents came for consultation with this five-month-old whose eyes are yellow as a ripe banana and who’s abdomen is large as a watermelon. This quick
Angolans love to sing in harmony, with vibrant gestures and expressive smiles. Last night, when I brought my travel guitar to the CEML Hospital ward and began to softly play Latin and classical tunes, I was immediately accompanied by their vocal improvisation. Next, without my lead, they launched into familiar hymns, like A Deus