Medical
Mission
to
Zimbabwe
By Robert Kottman, MD
During the last week of August, I
had the privilege of providing
medical care to approximately
40 patients at the medical clinic
of Bishopstone Estates, in southern
Zimbabwe.
As an American physician working
in one of our country’s most advanced
medical communities here in San
Antonio, I was amazed and somewhat
heartbroken when I first arrived at the
Zimbabwe clinic.
The medical clinic is manned by a
lone nurse’s aide, who is responsible
for the medical care of approximately
2,000 desperately impoverished people,
who have no medicine, no medical
supplies and often no food to eat.
I brought with me two “SafariCare
Blue Bags,” filled with pharmaceuticals
(obtained from Medical Aid Project, Inc., headquartered in Brunswick, Georgia) as
well as numerous medical supplies
which were donated for this mission by
the Baptist Health System of San Antonio — where I have served as an emergency
physician for the past 31 years.
The stark African clinic consisted
of bare floors and walls. There was no
electricity, no running water and no
medicine or supplies of any kind —
not even a stethoscope, oto-ophthalmoscope
or a blood pressure cuff —
let alone any laboratory testing or
radiology capabilities.
Once I began to treat patients in
the clinic, I saw half a dozen patients
whom I suspected had AIDS, and one
whom I definitely (clinically) diagnosed
with AIDS. I found myself
reflecting on how new medication “cocktails” prescribed to American
patients with AIDS have added
decades to surviving with what used
to be a nearly immediate, fatal disease.
It’s heartbreaking to know that a
Zimbabwean with AIDS is almost certain
to face a quick and agonizing
demise without the access to even simple
analgesics to diminish the pain.
The sickest patient I saw was a 26-
year-old woman who had what I suspected
was Falciparum malaria. I surmised
that she had only a week to
live, at best.
Fortunately, I was able to provide
her with a 20-day supply of Malarone
(anti-malaria medication) and I prayed
that she survived.
We treated numerous infections, as
well as patients with congestive heart
failure, parasitic infestations and
numerous skin problems. Though
some of their ailments were not particularly
serious in American terms,
without proper treatment and medication
most were almost certain to worsen,
with potentially fatal implications.
These patients receive zero medical
help from the government and were
extremely grateful for even the smallest
amount of medical care we could
provide.
Those who could speak English were
profuse in their thanks, and I wish to
pass along their heartfelt gratitude to
the Safari Club International Foundation, MAP, Inc. and to the Baptist Health
System for their life-saving generosity.
This trip provided me with the greatest
feeling of accomplishment of my 35-
year medical career, and the assistance of
so many charitable organizations and
individuals made it possible.
I look forward to another medical
aid trip to Africa next year. For physicians
who might be interested in going
to areas around the world in dire need
of medical care, I cannot recommend
the experience highly enough.
Not only does such a mission provide
the physician with immense personal
satisfaction, it also fosters greater
compassion for the care we give all our
patients.
I may be a practicing physician in
Texas, but through my volunteer efforts
in Africa, I also am proud to consider
myself a global physician.
Robert W. Kottman, MD, FACEP
Member, Alamo Chapter, Safari Club
International
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