A Surgeon in the Village

A Surgeon in the Village PDF Author: Tony Bartelme
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 080704492X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A “lyrical, inspirational” story of doctors who changed the health care of an African nation (Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation) Dr. Dilan Ellegala arrives in Tanzania, shocked to find the entire country has just three brain surgeons for its population of forty-two million. Haydom Lutheran Hospital lacks even the most basic surgical tools, not even a saw to open a patient’s skull. Here, people with head injuries or brain tumors heal on their own or die. When confronted with a villager suffering from a severe head trauma, Dilan buys a tree saw from a farmer, sterilizes it, and then uses it to save the man’s life. Yet Dilan realizes that there are far too many neurosurgery patients for one person to save, and of course he will soon be leaving Tanzania. He needs to teach someone his skills. He identifies a potential student in Emmanuel Mayegga, a stubborn assistant medical officer who grew up in a mud hut. Though Mayegga has no medical degree, Dilan sees that Mayegga has the dexterity, intelligence, and determination to do brain surgery. Over six months, he teaches Mayegga how to remove tumors and treat hydrocephalus. And then, perhaps more important, Dilan teaches Mayegga how to pass on his newfound skills. Mayegga teaches a second Tanzanian, who teaches a third. It’s a case of teach-a-man-to-fish meets brain surgery. As he guides these Tanzanians to do things they never thought possible, Dilan challenges the Western medical establishment to do more than send vacationing doctors on short-term medical missions. He discovers solutions that could transform health care for two billion people across the world. A Surgeon in the Village is the incredible and riveting account of one man’s push to “train-forward”—to change our approach to aid and medical training before more lives are needlessly lost. His story is a testament to the transformational power of teaching and the ever-present potential for change. As many as seventeen million people die every year because of a shortage of surgeons, more than die from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Dilan Ellegala and other visionaries are boldly proposing ways of saving lives.

Becoming Dr. Q

Becoming Dr. Q PDF Author: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520949609
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Today he is known as Dr. Q, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who leads cutting-edge research to cure brain cancer. But not too long ago, he was Freddy, a nineteen-year-old undocumented migrant worker toiling in the tomato fields of central California. In this gripping memoir, Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa tells his amazing life story—from his impoverished childhood in the tiny village of Palaco, Mexico, to his harrowing border crossing and his transformation from illegal immigrant to American citizen and gifted student at the University of California at Berkeley and at Harvard Medical School. Packed with adventure and adversity—including a few terrifying brushes with death—Becoming Dr. Q is a testament to persistence, hard work, the power of hope and imagination, and the pursuit of excellence. It’s also a story about the importance of family, of mentors, and of giving people a chance.

A Surgeon in the Village

A Surgeon in the Village PDF Author: Tony Bartelme
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 080704492X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Get Book Here

Book Description
A “lyrical, inspirational” story of doctors who changed the health care of an African nation (Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation) Dr. Dilan Ellegala arrives in Tanzania, shocked to find the entire country has just three brain surgeons for its population of forty-two million. Haydom Lutheran Hospital lacks even the most basic surgical tools, not even a saw to open a patient’s skull. Here, people with head injuries or brain tumors heal on their own or die. When confronted with a villager suffering from a severe head trauma, Dilan buys a tree saw from a farmer, sterilizes it, and then uses it to save the man’s life. Yet Dilan realizes that there are far too many neurosurgery patients for one person to save, and of course he will soon be leaving Tanzania. He needs to teach someone his skills. He identifies a potential student in Emmanuel Mayegga, a stubborn assistant medical officer who grew up in a mud hut. Though Mayegga has no medical degree, Dilan sees that Mayegga has the dexterity, intelligence, and determination to do brain surgery. Over six months, he teaches Mayegga how to remove tumors and treat hydrocephalus. And then, perhaps more important, Dilan teaches Mayegga how to pass on his newfound skills. Mayegga teaches a second Tanzanian, who teaches a third. It’s a case of teach-a-man-to-fish meets brain surgery. As he guides these Tanzanians to do things they never thought possible, Dilan challenges the Western medical establishment to do more than send vacationing doctors on short-term medical missions. He discovers solutions that could transform health care for two billion people across the world. A Surgeon in the Village is the incredible and riveting account of one man’s push to “train-forward”—to change our approach to aid and medical training before more lives are needlessly lost. His story is a testament to the transformational power of teaching and the ever-present potential for change. As many as seventeen million people die every year because of a shortage of surgeons, more than die from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Dilan Ellegala and other visionaries are boldly proposing ways of saving lives.

Mortal Lessons

Mortal Lessons PDF Author: Richard Selzer
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 054754233X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
A surgeon shares true stories of life, death, and the human body in an essay collection that “will nail you to your chair” (Saturday Review). With settings ranging from the operating theater to a Korean ambulance, and topics as varied as the disposition of a corpse and the author’s own childhood, these nineteen captivating, wry, and intimate vignettes offer a poignant examination of health, humanity, and, of course, mortality. Sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, the essays offer a physician’s viewpoint that goes beyond the medical to also consider the most meaningful issues and questions we face, whether as doctors or patients, cared for or caregiver. Praised by Kirkus Reviews as “an impressive display of knowledge and art, magic and mystery,” Mortal Lessons is a classic reflection on the human body and the human experience, and will resonate with readers for generations to come.

The Surgeon and the Shepherd

The Surgeon and the Shepherd PDF Author: Meg Ostrum
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803203914
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
"In 1942, in coordination with the Belgian resistance, Schepens stage-managed a highly secret information and evacuation service through the counterfeit operation of a backcountry lumbering enterprise. This book traces Schepen's gradual transformation from an apolitical young ophthalmologist into double agent "Jacques Perot," and his emergence in the postwar period as a modern folk hero to the residents of Mendive. Woven into the account are the stories of a remarkable international cast of characters, most notably the Basque shepherd Jean Sarochar, regarded as a local misfit, with whom Schepens formed his most unlikely partnership and an enduring friendship.".

The Life and Times of a One-Armed Surgeon

The Life and Times of a One-Armed Surgeon PDF Author: Morris A. Robbins
Publisher: Bookbaby
ISBN: 9781098354008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Morris A. Robbins, M.D. tells a compelling story of overcoming seemingly impossible odds. He begins with a delightful look at his past in rural New Jersey. Ready to embark on his college education, he suffers a near-fatal accident that leaves him permanently maimed. With grit, determination, and ingenuity, he persists in following his dream of becoming a surgeon. During a 50-year medical career, Doc touched countless lives with his skill and inspiring example. His unassuming recollections are supported with additional material curated by his daughter Dorothy Robbins Talavera, including documentation from files, correspondence, news clippings, family photos and first-hand comments from people who knew him. This honest, but uplifting account is bound to be helpful to a wide-ranging audience of readers.

The Village

The Village PDF Author: Nikita Lalwani
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
ISBN: 0307374629
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed, Booker longlisted Gifted, a provocative novel about an experimental open prison in India and the havoc a team of journalists wreaks on the delicate moral code of the inmates. After a long journey from England, Ray Bhullar arrives early on a winter morning at the gates of a remote Indian village called Ashwer which will be her home for the next three months. The door of the hut she will share with Serena, her English co-worker, is a loose sheet of metal, the windows simple holes in the walls. Beyond the lockless door, village life goes on as usual. And yet, the village is anything but normal. Despite the domestic chores being carried out, cooking, fetching water and sewing and laundering linens, Ashwer is a village of murderers, an experimental open prison. And when Ray and her crew take up residence, to observe and to make a documentary, it seems that they are innocent visitors into a violent world, on a mission to hold the place up to viewers as the ultimate example of tolerance. But the longer Ray and her colleagues stay and their need for drama intensifies, the line between innocence and guilt begins to blur and an unexpected and terrifying new kind of cruelty emerges. A mesmerizing and heartfelt tale of manipulation and personal morality, Nikita Lalwani's new novel brilliantly exposes how truly frail our moral judgment can be.

A Luxury Called Health a Doctor's Journey Through the Art, the Science and the Trickery of Medicine

A Luxury Called Health a Doctor's Journey Through the Art, the Science and the Trickery of Medicine PDF Author: Kavery Nambisan
Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books
ISBN: 9789354470714
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Description The miracles and tragedies of life, the compassion and cruelties of humanity are nowhere more visible than in the field of medicine. It is these that Kavery Nambisan-doctor and writer of immense sensitivity-explores in this memoir, drawing upon her work as a surgeon over four decades in rural and small-town India. Through her patients' stories, she depicts the highs and lows of medical practice: Sudha, in Mokama, Bihar, left immobilized waist-down after being set on fire by her in-laws, but determined to walk; construction workers in Lonavala, Maharashtra, who preferred the quick-fix of the 'drip', so that they wouldn't miss their daily wage; four-year-old Pavana in the Anamallais, mauled by a leopard, who had to be driven over 40 kilometres of gutted roads to the nearest hospital. And in contrast, the friend of a Tamil Nadu chief minister who could summon a doctor repeatedly, at will, to attend to her stubbed toe. Settled in Kodagu, Karnataka, after years of practice in hospitals, Kavery now works as a GP, and she writes about treating snake bites, skin diseases, tuberculosis, epileptic seizures and, lately, Covid-19; even as she helps some of her patients hide their meagre savings from alcoholic husbands. Throughout, Kavery also examines the evolution of medical practice and the state of India's public health; and weaves in episodes from her personal life: learning from heroes and rogues, coming into her own as a surgeon, and nursing her husband, the poet Vijay Nambisan, who was claimed by cancer. Engaging, incisive and deeply felt, A Luxury Called Health shows, as few books have ever done, 'the sincerity and the deception, the valour and the cowardice beneath the white coat'.

On the Border of a Dream

On the Border of a Dream PDF Author: Edgar H. Hernandez
Publisher: Book Chix
ISBN: 9780998921501
Category : Immigrants
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
"On the Border of a Dream" is an eye-opening and uplifting memoir that tells the true story of a boy from rural Mexico who, at a young age, sets his mind to becoming a pioneering surgeon in the USA. The memoir follows Edgar Hernandez, first with his tight-knit family as an adolescent in Mexico and then as he journeys to the USA to pursue his dream. In today's hotly contested political environment this book is poignant and pertinent as it offers a different view of the immigration debate. This book is written through the eyes of an "innocent child" which is a group we forget about when we choose to close our borders. It's descriptive writing makes the reader feel the tension that young Edgar endured as a child being chased by La Migra while illegally in the U.S. and mesmerizes the reader keeping you engaged and eager to understand why at age 10 he went back to Mexico and returned to the US legally a second time at age 11 because even at a young age he wanted to become an American Citizen the legal way. The author captures the universal experience of every migrant establishing to the reader that hope is not easily extinguishable and that with unrelenting perseverance one can overcome tremendous odds. "On the Border of a Dream" is a true testament to the goodness of humanity and the integrity of immigrants who seek lives in the USA, not simply to better themselves but to better the American communities that they join as well.

What’s Up, Doc? a Surgeon’s Story

What’s Up, Doc? a Surgeon’s Story PDF Author: Dr. Riaz Mohammed
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1973668793
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
Riaz Mohammed was born into a Muslim family in Pakistan. While a boy in the village of Gujarat, he witnessed a young boy chasing cattle into a fast-flowing stream. The boy was pulled from the water, but there was nothing that could be done for him—and he died. It was then that the author decided to be a doctor, so he could help people. Eventually, the author and his family immigrated to Scotland. There, he was treated unkindly, but he was determined to navigate his way through life. At age sixteen, he saw a vision of Jesus Christ while at camp. He converted to Christianity, which only made his life more complicated, but he studied hard and became a surgeon. He had started a family of his own and was at the top of his career when he contracted Hepatitis B—and he had to start over again in an entirely new way. Through it all, God worked in miraculous ways to never let him down.

A Surgeon's Incredible Life Journey

A Surgeon's Incredible Life Journey PDF Author: Ali H. Morad
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1449043658
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
His journey began in Iran, where he was born and learned the ways of an ancient civilization. As you travel with him, you will learn about his childhood, his parents, his teenage years and his years as a medical student in Iran. Arriving in a new country where people's beliefs and customs were so unlike his own, he discovered that if you are sincere in your beliefs, no matter how different they may be, most people will respect you and your right to your beliefs. Soon, he had two countries and fond memories of his youth in his native land and a deep gratitude for a country that has given him the opportunity to develop wonderful friendships. He has also learned that people are more alike than they are different and that everyone has a belief of some kind and that they want to be cared about and respected. Having the perspective of a native Iranian and a patriotic American, he provides a view of his heritage, as well as the continuing story of his life here in the United States. He was a surgeon who placed a higher value on being a humane, caring person rather than power or money. He has viewed his patients and co-workers as family and treated them with enduring love and respect. Without exception, they have reciprocated. As a physician, he knows laughter and hope is effective medicine, and he has supplied large doses of these in his stories. It is his desire that they give you enjoyment, as well as a more in-depth perception of a different culture and of the man who came from that culture. This is his small contribution to helping us all learn how to live in peace and harmony with one another.