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.