Baby Mary was commenced on anti-TB medications sourced from the Black Market in the past couple of days. That’s an underground drug deal I never thought I would support. After festering in misery for 4 months of her 6 months on earth I expect to hear only good news from now on. This however, is … More Underground Drug Deal
Tuberculosis is an insidious and a complicated disease. Six years ago I met a young man of about 30 years old who hailed from India. He presented to an Australian hospital with persistent abdominal symptoms. Eventually doctors performed investigations and found multiple lesions on the lining around his abdominal organs. Whilst awaiting results from the … More Fighting Felons
It’s a month since I wrote about Mary, aka “TB Baby”. Sadly there is still no reprieve for this deteriorating almost-6-month-old. She remains untreated and dangerously unwell at home. Her weight is perilously stagnant, with no weight gain for over 3 months. She is now developing other symptoms related to her suppressed immune system caused … More Dismay and Disarray
This is a World Health Organisation growth chart for a child from birth to six months old. The Y axis follows weight in kilograms, while the X axis follows the age in weeks to 12 weeks, then in months to six months. The coloured curves traveling from the left to the right of the chart … More TB? Or Not TB?
Before leaving Cambodia I did some training with my local colleague on how to correctly weigh babies. She has since trained one of our village volunteers. Last night they sent me some weights from the past few weeks to interpret and advise on. Before I even analyse the results properly, I can see a range … More Baby Bears and Coffee Creamers
Sadly I’m returning to Australia after four very fast months in Cambodia. The last few days have been busy tidying up loose ends. Yesterday I had a final child health meeting in a Phnom Penh neighbourhood of busy alleyways encircling a very large pagoda. Tuk tuk rooftop scraped past truck walls, moto handlebars knocked my … More Pre-Departure Refurbishments
Both of these young women are Cambodian. One is 23yo from current day peasant roots and the other, now a generation or two removed from her peasant roots, 17yo from an established ruling class family. Juxtaposed, these photographs demonstrate my point that poverty is not necessarily a visible thing. So often I have encountered elegant … More A Collision of Two Lives
One of the things I have learned about the world since coming to Cambodia, is that there must be millions of people whose lives could be transformed by something as simple as a wheelchair, but who instead are confined to a tiny space by their inability to walk. I have met a surprising number of … More Wheels
Cambodia is in the throes of “the Hot season”, better known in tropical Australia as “the Build-Up”. It is hot and extremely humid, with clouds building up in the sky but very little rain, so that the humidity just builds and builds. Even the locals are suffering. Tonight, leaving my apartment, our security guard was … More Cool Fires
Sometimes whilst blogging I go searching for the right quote to fit my reflections. This quote seemed perfect for today’s story relating to the small Islamic community I am currently working with. I had never heard of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who according to Wikipedia “…. was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the last … More Sometimes The Battle …
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