“Life is a Bold and Daring Adventure!”
25 years ago David and I got this very fortune in our fortune cookie after finishing a dinner of Chinese take-out... and that’s the way it’s been ever since, but Kenya was the epitome! Whodathunk two semi-young oldsters like us could go and be and do all that we went and gone and done! It still gives me goosies.
Dr. Komar Koech, the one and only neurosurgeon in Eldoret now has attachments for his cranial drill, a plethora of drill bits, ventricular and lumbar drains, instrumentation for repair of skull and dura defects, assorted forceps, aneurysm clips and appliers. He and David became good friends, sharing ideas, experiences, concerns and anecdotes. Congeniality flows easily when standing side by side with a colleague, muckin’ in a brain. There is no question MTRH and Dr. Koech were very grateful (see attachment) for our visit.
I gained a new understand about third world medicine and its challenges, and how phenomenally privileged we are to have clean water, fresh food, a warm and dry shelter to keep us safe, and electricity to light our way. Kenyans are industrious people but how can they support their families when jobs are so scare and education so minimal? How can their children be healthy when there is not enough money for food or shoes?
I have reassessed my thoughts about charitable giving. David and I have always been generous contributors to educational institutions, cultural events and foundations for public good. However, I have never been a believer that a whole lot of money necessarily makes things better. It certainly makes things different, but often new problems emerge. I’m not interested in helping mega-coffers get fatter and letting the largesse accumulate until a miniscule portion is siphoned off at a set time, supposedly to benefit some unknown entity. I want to feel that human-to-human touch, and know that my contribution can actually change a life. I felt that at The Patrician School and at the Fistula Clinic. Imagine, one year of fine education for one young boy or girl for $100! (Isn’t that about a month’s worth of lattes?) Or a young woman given a whole new life to look forward to, thanks to a $500 surgery! Has there EVER been such a bang for a buck? If you have an extra $10 or $20 or $50 in your wallet, consider donating to: www.alittle4alot.com ( check out their website to learn how they are sending young fistula survivors back to school, then helping them find a career to gain their independence). If you wish to express your generosity thru scholastic endeavors, then consider a small donation to the Brothers of St. Patrick and ask that it be sent directly to The Patrician School in Kabongo (www.patricianbrothers.org). Donations to any of these 3 is fully tax-deductible. Then give yourself a hug...a really, really BIG one! (and you’ll get a BIG one from me too!)
I am grateful for the beautiful zoos we have in America. All these years I had viewed them with a modicum of distaste, believing that animals deserve to live their lives in the wild. I have come to learn that the wild is, in truth, often too wild and these magnificent and exotic creatures have their life span shortened by half when not protected from predators. I also realized that without zoos, children would never see the majestic grace of a cheetah in a tree, or the lumbering gait of a giraffe, or the gray crinkly folds in an elephant’s ears. To spend one’s entire life and only see the tantalizing stripes of a zebra in a picture book? No, I’m glad we have zoos.
And then, there’s Veronicah. I don’t know what she will become, or what will become of her. Will she be strong enough to stand alone and rise above her generations of poverty? Will her determination of getting an education be stronger than the primal and cultural pull of early marriage and endless babies? I sent her a picture of our first day when we were registering at the school together. She was barefoot and small and I tucked her in close beside me, in some vague and futile maternal hope that I might somehow leave a protective aura around her, even when I am half a world away. I want her to remember that picture and know that on that day someone looked beyond the dusty and dirty old dress and saw a precious jewel, a beautiful and intelligent young girl, a tender being with a beating heart who deserved every chance in the world to shed her rags and fly to freedom. I want her to look in the mirror and know she is worth it. I knew it then and I know it now. I want her to hear her once stifled voice, as it says to her: “Veronicah! You are worth it! You are worth it!”
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
I can’t say goodbye to Kenya without revealing what I will miss most. It will be the graciousness of the people; their smiles, their kindness, their gentle humor and endless cheerfulness. For all the extreme poverty, the abysmal progress of government to ameliorate basic services, the high prices that rob these dear people of basic food and needs, they are HAPPY! They are joyous to be alive, grateful for another day and delighted to share that with everyone. They don’t have “issues”, they don’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and they don’t ever think they got the short end of the stick. By having nothing, they got it all!
Figure that one out-
Harambee! (“Let’s all pull together”)
1. You have let me walk a mile in your shoes, as I was walking in mine. Thank you for the honor.
2. Quiet moments at the Club in Eldoret.
3. A few of my favorite souvenirs: Hand woven and beaded basket from Imani Workshop, with 2 Kenyan pencils and a soapstone heart I found in a
shop next to the Uniform Store in Eldoret. Two hand carved wooden masks, an eland and a cheetah and between them a small tasting spoon with a horn handle. A charming little round beaded box made by the Nalutuechas, a necklace from Imani workshop (round beads hand rolled from clay then baked and glazed; long beads made from glossy pages of old magazines, rolled and shellacked). Assorted earrings and key fob and coaster made by Alice, the lovely Maasai lady. A small and oh- so-charming handmade polka-dot giraffe from “Mothers with HIV” group home.
4. What a delight for us! We hold a small fund-raiser/reception at our home for Hillary and Carolyne Mabeya (and the One-by-One Foundation) when they come to Seattle for a visit!
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4. What a delight for us! We hold a small fund-raiser/reception at our home for Hillary and Carolyne Mabeya (and the One-by-One Foundation) when they come to Seattle for a visit!
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US-based Neurosurgeon Donates 8M Equipment to Hospital
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 11:43 | Written by Public Relations
Prof. David Pitkethly, M.D. Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington’s Department of Neurosurgery and his wife, Mara, a Registered Nurse, visited Hospital under the auspices of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).
Prof. Pitkethly worked with the Hospital’s Neurosurgeon, Dr. Florentius Koech in the theatre and at Neurosurgery Clinic for two weeks. He was also involved in the Medical Students’ Instruction Program.
“I had occasion to work with Dr. Koech and I must say the cases in the United States are quite different from the ones in Africa in a number of ways, but all the same it was an excellent experience,” he said.
The donation, said Prof. Pitkethly, was made possible through the efforts of American companies led by Styker, Medtronic, Aesculap and Integra.
While receiving the donation, Dr. Koech-Head of Neurosurgery Department, expressed gratitude saying most of the neurosurgery equipment and supplies are hard to find locally. He added that the donation will be of assistance to persons living within the Hospital’s catchment area.
“This donation will sure go a long way in helping people residing in Western Kenya, parts of Eastern Uganda and the Southern Sudan with a population of close to 20 million. We treasure the collaborations and partnerships entered between the Hospital and medical and teaching institutions in Kenya and the world over. We look forward and remain indebted to their continued support,” said Dr. Koech, the only practicing Neurosurgeon outside Nairobi.
His wife Mara, who was attached to the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) outreach services, had occasion to be at the Hospital’s Riley Mother and Baby Hospital (RMBH), Reproductive Health Division (Fistula Clinic) and the Patrician Primary School in Kabongo.
“Our two weeks at the Hospital has been most delightful. We enjoyed working there just like we did the excursions. Kenyans are the kindest and most friendly people we have ever come across,” Prof. Pitkethly and Mara said on their last day at the Hospital.
