Band-Aid For A Broken Leg

 Band-Aid For A Broken Leg

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       November 26, 2014

 

Author  Damien Brown

Distributor:     
ISBN:                 978-1-74331-021-2
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:    

Website:    http://www.allenandunwin.com 

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 Damien Brown qualified as a Medical Doctor and did a stint in Cambodia. He then decided the next step was to work in one of the many war torn countries where he could help make a difference in the daily lives of the many impoverished people desperately in need of medical attention.

His first posting with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Africa was at Mavinga, a town or place not noted for the stability of the politics or the safety of the areas surrounding the township. Healthcare in Mavinga was at best adequate and at the worst far from satisfactory, with a small team of trained health care givers ably assisted by a team of local people: many of whom had honed their skills at the forefront of the war which had raged throughout he area only some four years previously.

As the only trained Doctor he faced the confrontational experiences of not understanding the language, a hospital filled with malnourished children and medical conditions only read about in books, isolation and the company of three other professionals to work with over a six month period.

During the time he was in Mavinga, Brown learned to come to terms with many issues which challenged on a daily basis. He learned to laugh and cry with the local people: came to accept that which could not be changed: stood in awe of the fortitude exhibited by the many who travelled long distances to get medical help only to die just as help was there and developed a deep and lasting respect for the courage shown by Angolans in the face of desperate odds.

When his six months in Mavinga was complete he decided to remain with Medecins Sans Frontieresand was offered the challenge of Somalia, bombs, guns and all. This failed to take place and Brown finds himself heading instead for Mozambique, where he is met with a much more peaceful setting but very little to do. He begins work with a mobile health clinic and ends up carrying out nutrition surveys.

Sudan beckons and so begins a very traumatic assignment which challenges every possible aspect of the human psyche. Not only is the area in the throes of a full blooded civil war, Brown has to come to terms with the Nuer – a tribe which make up most of Nasir’s population and the “ordered anarchy in which they live”.

Eventually a great sense of helplessness invades and although he realises he is making a difference in child malnutrition rates overall, Brown realises he must leave the Sudan. During his final night in emergency surgery a steel pin being placed in the shattered leg of a young “soldier” breaks and penetrates his glove lodging in his palm. Blood from the leg wound is covering the pin, raising the very real spectre of HIV AIDS. Brown is airlifted out the next morning, eventually finding his way back to Australia. So ending his Sudan sojourn!

Biographies, Non Fiction