Issue no 3, 2000 -- English edition -- home
Page: -- Contents -- 1, 2, (3), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
“Ahead of me was a dried-out riverbed. I hesitated and looked about for a bridge. ‘Straight ahead,’ urged my colleague Agnes. So I did what we were taught at Revingehed. I shifted down to first gear and let up the pedals. Slowly the jeep inched down the bank, sloshed through the mud on the riverbottom, and climbed up the opposite bank. The young get carried away and get stuck. The trick is to have patience and drive slowly.”
The story comes from the Swedish newspaper Arbetet, as told by jeep-doctor Stig Cronberg, from Malmö, Sweden, widely known for his reference work on infections. He goes on to say:
“Home we have specialists. In Kenya I had Agnes, who spoke good English but lacked formal medical training. She was guide, interpreter, secretary, dispensing chemist’s assistant, and assistant nurse. For my part, I acted as driver, car mechanic, doctor, porter, nurse, secretary and treasurer. At the village, they unloaded our garden table, chairs, and boxes with medicines and equipment. The reception functioned perfectly. ...“We never took any tests. An experienced doctor can with good exactness determine which treatment is most effective. In Sweden, we make superficial judgements and rely too much on technical diagnosis.”
“One day when I came in the jeep to the clinic, a hundred or so patients were waiting. Suddenly, I heard a commotion and cries. A poisonous snake had fallen down from a tree among the patients. I became very afraid and worried that some patients would be bitten, but some Kenyan women killed the snake with sticks before it could harm anyone.“The men in the group shook their heads and explained that Kenyan women are both strong and brave, and can manage anything, a comment that gave rise to much amusement and laughter.”
Dr Soo Spang-Fort, from Lidingö, Sweden, tells us of this experience from the Nandi Hills Relay in Kenya.
“I saw early what a valuable effort the Doctor Bank jeep-doctors make to help people in the bush who need care, but cannot get it due to the great distances, and lack of transport and money. I thank the Rotary Doctor Bank for the opportunity to broaden my medical experience and my relations with others, and hope that the Rotary jeep-doctors continue with their valuable help efforts.”
Not only continue, but expand.
Alexander Mutoka was treated for over two months at the hospital in Maseno, Kenya, with traction and physiotherapy after being hit by a car. The parents tried but failed to get compensation from the driver. Because they couldn’t pay for the treatment, the boy was kept at the hospital. The situation seemed hopeless. Then the Doctor Bank Poverty Fund entered the picture. Surgeon Ulf Ljungqvist, from Svärdsjö, Sweden, who was working at the hospital could use the fund to pay for Alexander’s entire hospital stay.
“He was probably the world’s happiest boy when he left us,” says Ulf Ljungqvist.
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World’s happiest boy leaves hospital |
“He was alone on duty around the clock, week after week,” writes reporter Hilda Frankki in a local newspaper after a meeting with gynaecologist Bo Asplund, from Växjö, Sweden. Dr Asplund had just returned from serving for the Doctor Bank on the island of Pemba in the Indian Ocean. It is a story of a very unfamiliar environment for our doctors. About his terms of duty, Bo Asplund said:
“Between duty spells I was at home a while, reading and sleeping until they called on me again. I kept going until the work was done. People would lie outside the hospital for days and wait.”
Bo Asplund was the only person at the hospital with Western doctor training.
“Our primary task is to reduce maternal mortality, which is 100 times greater than in Sweden.”
In the article, he tells of how he sometimes would operate by candlelight, how dying patients could be transported by oxcart for ten hours to reach the hospital, and how his allowance from the Doctor Bank went to buy medicine for the patients.
Dr Ulla Wagne, from Vänersborg in Sweden, and one of the first Rotary Doctors for the Doctor Bank, has returned from her sixth stay, this time as jeep-doctor among the Masai. She is more enthusiastic than ever.
“It has always felt very meaningful to be out for the Doctor Bank. Hard work and rich experiences, but this time also fun and invigorating. I got to do my favorite work: basic health care near the patients, and preventive care with vaccinations of many children. Tired at night, happy and expectant in the morning. I hope to be able to return.”