Camping Degree

I graduated from Union College in Lincoln NE in 2011 with a BS degree in International Rescue and Relief (IRR). It was a great degree for me: international experience, networking with lots of like-minded people, met my pre-medicine requirements, and had exciting classes like ocean survival, high angle ropes rescue, and a semester overseas.

But the thing that sticks out in my mother’s mind is how much time I spent outside of the class room. She affectionately calls it my “Camping Degree.” If I ever come up with an unexpected solution or have some strange trivia at hand she will ask, “Oh, did you learn that from your camping degree?”

There have been several experiences recently that have brought this back to mind.

Prior to COVID, we would carry our laundry to the hospital every Friday and Ami would use those facilities on our clothes. But another solution needed to be found now with the hospital’s functionality limited. So I set out to hang a clothes line on our front porch. The pillars are far apart and maintaining proper tension for an entire wet wardrobe was difficult. So I designed a mechanical advantage system using carabiners, paracord, and some hammock straps. Unfortunately, I was one carabiner short. Here’s a picture of my ultimate improvised locking carabiner:

The Most Secure Clothesline on the Block ™

Access to running water is always a struggle here. The international travel and survival training helped me prepare for living in Sierra Leone. The other night it was raining hard and there was lots of water coming out of the newly installed gutter on the house. So I seized the opportunity and had an unlimited water shower with excellent water pressure.

Lastly, it’s always nice when dreams from the past come true. While I was purchasing gear for IRR it was easy to dream big. ‘I might need a 0 degree bag if I ever climb to basecamp on Everest.’ Or ‘I might need this expensive headlamp if a natural disaster destroys the power stations for weeks on end.’ 

Most of the rationale that I used for expensive gear never (thankfully) came to fruition. But in this instance it did. When shopping for a backpacking stove there were several options. The two I was torn between was the MSR Whisperlite and the Wisperlite International. They are basically the same except the international version can burn more than just camp fuel. It takes camp fuel, or petroleum, or diesel, or kerosene, etc. I thought to myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe I’ll be stranded in Africa somewhere and be super hungry. This could really help!’ And just like that, I bought the more expensive one.

Well, last Sabbath the natural gas for our stove finished and the backup was empty. As I filled the camping stove with fuel from our generator, I happily reminisced about my time at Union. I had proved once again, that my so-called ‘camping degree’ provided me with more than just happiness or meeting pre-med requirements, it performed as promised and prepared me for the future.

Six Degrees of Separation

I’ve never had an opportunity to really witness the theory that any 2 random people on earth only have 6 people connecting them. This theory states that if person A knows person B, who knows C, who knows D, etc. there are only 6 connections that need to be made between anyone, anywhere.

This week I had a young woman come to my clinic who had been referred to me by name, which is strange. Doctors in Sierra Leone don’t really know me and wouldn’t refer patients to me anyways. Past patients do spread via word of mouth, but usually they just send patients to the hospital, but not to me directly. She had my name written in a text message.

She presented to me with some longstanding neurologic condition that I don’t fully understand. At the age of 20 she began to have right sided leg weakness that spread to her right arm, then progressed to gross motor tremors. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroid and started on Carbimazole, but since then her symptoms have progressed. Even though going to college, her hands can barely grip the pen due to fine motor deficits. Her right leg can’t fully straighten. When I try to straighten it forcefully, it starts to subconsciously writhe like a fish out of water. There’s other weird stuff too, but that’s not the point of this blog.

After exhausting my medical curiosity, I asked about how she knew about me. She told me about an uncle in the US who knows a woman (whose name I didn’t get). This woman is the daughter of EJ Heisler, who I met at my in-law’s Seventh Day Adventist church in Bismarck ND. I met EJ last year and was thrilled to meet me because he worked in Sierra Leone, at Masanga Hospital, in the 1980’s. 

Let’s count the connections: My patient -> Uncle in the USA -> EJ’s Daughter -> EJ Heisler -> Me. 

Apparently there are only 4 degrees of separation between me and a random person in Salone. That’s crazy!

I was so impressed, that I told my friend CHO Abu about this strange connection that even stretches through North Dakota. His response, “Ah! I know Pa Heisler! He got me the job at Masanga that started my career. He was so kind that every month he would buy all the single men a bag of rice, cooking utensils, even matches to start cooking fires!” 

In the days since Abu told me that story, I’ve been struck with how long lasting kindness is. Pa Heisler has left such a legacy that a random sick patient can find access to an American Doctor. (A doctor who feels way out of his league, but has connections to neurologists in the States) But Pa Heisler’s legacy even extends to my own staff who remember him fondly and tell long stories about the effects EJ had on the country. I heard someone say recently, “There’s no such thing as luck. Only the effects of kindness from one stranger to another.”

Now a bit about the hospital. The government had contracted with us for 80 beds, but since our arrival the number of COVID patients hasn’t exceeded 15. Which leaves the majority of our hospital sitting empty. In a small building separate from the hospital we are running all of clinic, wound care, procedure room for suturing, and only 1 bed for admissions. Because we can’t utilize our facilities, there are no surgeries happening. We have to turn away critically ill patients, and there isn’t enough revenue to pay our staff. Daily, I have staff telling me how they are struggling without salary. But concurrently, almost every week, I see a donation come in through the website. I want to say thank you!

https://adventisthealthsystem.sl/

Our hospital couldn’t exist without your support. And whether you see it or not, your kindness has a long lasting effect that will be felt for eternity.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your kindness and generosity.

This is a screenshot from a video I helped Abu record to send to Pa Heisler. You can just see the joy on his face that these memories bring. 

8.3%

 8.3%

Sure doesn’t sound like much, but it feels like a lot. This year we will have spent one complete month in quarantine. Two weeks were paid after traveling back to the US in April and just yesterday we completed our two weeks after returning from Sierra Leone.

It sounds easy: sit at home and do nothing. The first two weeks had their challenges; we really wanted to see our families in person. But these second two weeks came with a whole new set of challenges. Mold, intermittent electricity, intermittent internet, and our water tanks running low. Theoretically, we are supposed to get water from a reservoir maintained by the government. This reservoir routinely runs out of water in the dry season, but it’s still the tail end of rainy season and we aren’t getting any water! Rumor has it that the dam is under repair, and has been for the last 3 months. Nobody knows when the water supply will return.

We had gutters installed on the house to try to regain some control over our water supply. These gutters drain into big blue barrels. When it rains, the huge surface area of our roof, catches quite a bit of water and the barrels fill up in an hour or two. We also have six 20L containers (they are called rubbers here) that I try to fill up while it’s raining. Once the rain has stopped, Rachel climbs on top of the 3000L water tank and I lift up to her the 20L rubbers. Twenty liters at a time we fill up the tanks. So far, we’ve collected about 6000L and are tanks are almost full!

I’ve written before about how easy it is for my self-worth to be wrapped up in work. This stands to be further tested as the majority of the hospital’s buildings are a COVID treatment center. Renovations are underway for some other buildings, but currently there isn’t even a location for more than one person to see medical/non-COVID patients. Are we currently living in Sierra Leone without a purpose?

I don’t think we are purposeless, but sometimes it’s hard to see. Just like one 20L bucket doesn’t look like it adds anything to a 3000L tank, I’m sure the Spirit can use us in ways that are imperceptible to us. But man, it sure feels like the default to live by sight and not by faith.