John’s own special page!

A photo of Annapurner mountain  from Tansen. 

As it is mostly family that access this site I am always looking for  bits of trivia that may be interesting. My dear Brother in Law, Chris is on a mission in Nepal and working in a small hospital in a town called Tansen. He is a retired surgeon who is getting a bit long in the tooth! (like me) so he will find the work quite exhausting. I have always admired medical people who spend their own money to go to work in less fortunate parts of the world so this is of great interest to me. The weather is warm and the power supply intermittent but Chris is very happy he has a proper toilet that you can sit on! A small but important asset. On his way to Tansen  Chris passed through Kathmandu which looks full of golden temples but Tansen is quite humble in comparison as you can see from the pictures that I have posted on this site.  As only one picture got published! (I am not good at this blog stuff!)   I have decided to add some parts of Chris’s mail as it has been fascinating. He only has one last week to go before his journey home which will be a great relief to him! It involves a drive to the airport over awful roads avoiding rockfalls! and steep drops and then a rough ride in a small aircraft over the mountains to Kathmandu. From there he flies to Singapore and then home. I hope to see some interesting photos.

My colleague Brad  has left and I have work to do. He is a nice chap but wanted to take all the work. I’m not here to compete but it is better to be busy. We lost a 4 yo girl from burns and pneumonia this am. They become sick so quickly so every one is upset. I’m sure these patients would do much better at home. I now have 4 very sick patients to keep alive.
        Some of the work here is totally unfamiliar which is challenging. The juniors are supportive but expect us to have the answers. One 18 yo boy with TB has a bowel leak, after surgery (not me this time) and has dropped from about 35 kgs to 29 kgs. I think further surgery would kill him at this stage and we have no means of feeding him other than through his mouth. I give all the sick ones an egg a day. Quite a few of the patients can’t pay there bills so they are kept in hospital until father comes good. Life is tough.
        Meanwhile, the rainy season approaches with heavy falls. I think this is the season when everyone fattens up. There are lots of people passing through, mostly Americans but a few Poms and Canadians. I get to meet some of them.
        The Maoist party is making concessions but the old guard are slow to respond. Their intransigence would not be tolerated elsewhere. The 84 yo prime minister, who was defeated wants to be president, they tell me he was totally corrupt even making his daughter -in law ‘minister without portfolio’ so she could collect a salary. Politically, it is very interesting for me

I meant to tell you that the mountains were visible for the first time during the week. Tonight they are very visible as towering peaks covered with snow. They make a contrast with the green slopes in the foreground. This is a picturesque place. The clouds above or below together with the frequent electrical storms add considerable drama. The thunder is continuous and the rain can be heavy. They don’t always come together.

I hope you all enjoy this blog, I will publish more pictures from Christopher’s trip later.

thanks to all of you who have left comments.    John