A quiet weekend

This weekend on-call has yielded only one flight. Interesting that it still had a theme.

I've managed to catch up on some work, do some more reading and prepare some lectures and training scenarios for the flight nurses. As I've beavered away at the guest house (until now I was the only guest) Jane the hostess, busied herself about the place or watched some television. I've noticed that whenever the television is on it features back to back Christian programming. I wasn't really paying attention initially but I've never seen anything like it! Cartoons of the early life of Christ, adverts for a new game Bible Bingo and a energizing American preacher in a glittering yet rather over-the-top stage setup, bombarding his audience with the easy answers to the difficulties in the world. I am learning that Christianity is strong and vibrant in Kenya. My secular and atheist ways are, I've realised, rather odd around here. Jane asked me if I would be joining her at church on Sunday. I politely refused and explained I had no religion. She thought this very strange. In fact, as I explained my secular upbringing and my mistrust of the man-made imposition that is organised religion (things I have no problem explaining normally) it was rather distressing to see the look on her face. She clasped my hand and told me that what I was saying was causing her physical pain, in her heart. She has resolved to teach me what I missing. I think, in retrospect, I should have kept my big mouth shut. (Note to self - don't talk about religion again. Now look what you've done.)

It is funny that the next medevac I was called for was to assess and retrieve an elderly American-born Catholic priest from the town of Musoma in Tanzania on the bank of the massive Lake Victoria. He was a member of the Flying Doctors of East Africa (now the scheme known as Maisha) and so was eligible for transfer in the event of a life-threatening emergency. He had collapsed while giving morning mass after a week of non-specific ill health. He was confused and the mission nuns/nurses were concerned he had suffered a stroke. When we got the call I did point out that the differential for an elderly man with progressive confusion for a week, syncope and no focal neurology was unlikely to include a CVE so again (as they always do) we prepared for the worst.

Again time had been a healer and we were greeted at the runway by an extremely healthy looking octogenarian accompanied by a few concerned nuns. He walked out to the plane (albeit a little unsteadily) warmly greeted me and even scaled the steps into the plane unaided. This amazing man I was to learn, had lived in Tanzania for 57 years! He came out with a small group of missionaries in the 60s and just never left. So on assessment his observations were fine, his examination unremarkable and his ECG, blood glucose and venous blood gas were all unexciting. For a man who was supposedly confused he got 10/10 on the minimental test, admittedly I did have to change the questions about the Queen and WW2, to the president of Tanzania and the date of Kenyan independence. It's very important these questions are culturally relevant to the patient. The nuns thought he must have malaria. "It's not malaria I told them. I've had it six times!" I discovered that he had been struggling to remember things over the past week and struggled to give his sermon in Swahili so had to revert back to English. I wish I had longer to speak to him about his incredible life but I'd probably end up talking about religion which I had decided not to do again. I do hope that, after his recent lapse in mental functioning and the little scare he gave his congregation, he turns out to have a mild infection and he is back preaching in Swahili again soon.