Bush Doctor in the City. Vol 18
Bush Doctor in the City. Vol 18
The Bush Doctor was getting worried. His intuition, without which practicing medicine without the luxury of a fully equipped laboratory became an impossibility, was declining.His French volunteer Doctor had astonished everyone and settled in quickly. Too quickly. She was now having a passionate love affair with the leader of the local militia, whose almost presence at the hospital was becoming a cause for concern. However, he always brought with him valuable diesel and chocolates!The love birds would then disappear into the creeks for hours.The mother of the child with the Burkitt’s Lymphoma was now back. The response of the high grade tumour to chemotherapy in the city had been good but he now had intractable diarrhoea. As if that wasn’t enough, her step son who worked in construction somewhere in East African was back home ill. Doctors in the city thought it was HIV but he refused a blood test opting to see the witch Doctor who in turn referred him to the Bush Doctor. The poor mother was beside herself with worry.In between periods of staring at the walls smiling, the volunteer Doctor had developed a deep interest in the ill man from East Africa.The noise of singing brought everyone out to the front of the hospital. The Bush Doctor was surprised to find a large group of militia youths and two foreign men in tow. Their leader was passing and had come to drop a gift for his French lover.The Bush Nurse went berserk when he saw the captured white men; oil workers.The militia boys thought it funny.‘African European say make we no hostage oyinbo European. You still love am? I think this oyinbo na your ex. No bi Doctor be your new boyfriend?’ they teased. The Bush Doctor signalled for the Militia leader to follow him. Once in his office, he begged for an end to these visits. People had started talking. ‘And what ever you do, don’t take this French Doctor hostage. They would say it was me who organised her abduction. Please’ he begged.The Militia leader suddenly broke own in tears. He was in love and would be eloping to France with his new love. They would be getting married. He had already saved $30,000. The Bush Doctor had an idea.‘I too, will be going to America for studies. Why not give me $10,000. I can transfer it to you in Paris when I am settled in the States’ he said tentatively.The militia leader took off his rucksack and counted the money out in clean bills in silence.‘You mother is a good woman. We eat at her place regularly up in the creeks’ said the Militia leader.‘Oh yes, she is so kind’ said the Bush Doctor. He mum had just become the collateral in this deal. Two hours later the volunteer Doctor was screamed excitedly while she sat with her eye over the microscope. She had been looking at the cerebro-spinal fluid she obtained from doing a lumbar puncture on the construction worker from Uganda.‘I have cracked it! Trypanosomiasis! Just like the French hero Eugene Jamot!The Bush Doctor and his nurse both took turns looking at the parasites .‘This Eugene whatever. Who is he?’ asked the Bush Doctor.His French visitor looked at him as if she could not believe her ears. She motioned for him to drag a chair over.‘That man did so much for Africa. This may take some time’ she said. No such diagnosis for the Bush Doctor in the city. He hasn’t looked down a microscope in fifteen whole years. 4-7-07. MI a 40 year old man comes with rashes. ‘What do you think?’ he asks.‘Chicken Pox’ I offer.‘No. I had this 10 years ago. Was told it came from a bug in the carpet’ he says.‘And how was it treated?’ I asked‘Cream’ he says.‘Well it looks like Chicken Pox. But it may be Scabies. Here is some cream’ I said, struggling to maintain an air of confidence.In medicine, the customer is always right. 5-7-07. 60 year old lady comes with a belly lump. Had been for Ultrasound scan which showed nothing. No surprise there as it was in her anterior abdominal wall.As she gets on the examination couch I notice how frail she has become.‘Lost any weight?’ I asked‘Yes. 2 stones’ she answers.Maybe hernia or maybe secondary deposit from her Beast Cancer (Did my thinking in my head as I didn’t want to cause sleepless nights on mere speculation). I dictated a letter to her Surgeon there and then.She asked for a repeat prescription of her Zopiclone which I printed off. She said good bye, made for the door and then turned back. ‘Is this tablet good for Cancer?’ she asked.‘No, it’s a sleeping tablet’ I replied. She looked horrified.‘Don’t tell me I have been taking the wrong tablets for Breast Cancer’ she said.I rushed to get her notes.‘You should be on Cyclophosphamide. You were given some 4 weeks ago in the hospital’ I said and printed out a new prescription..She rang an hour later.‘Found my tablets. They had fallen behind the sofa and I got mixed up. Thank you very much and God bless you’ she said.‘Amen’ I replied. I didn’t really do anything to deserve her thanks though. It was a good thing she asked that question. ‘Is this tablet good for cancer?’
http://www.asnom.org/en/441_trypanosomiase.html
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