Further adventures of the team
Day 7, Bounou
Off to a rough start
The sun is still mild as the Cœur de Gazelles team gets set up for its 7th day of work. The inn where the doctors are received was specially built for that purpose by the owner, touched several years ago by the caravan’s actions.
The morning gets off to a slow start. There are few patients, which suggests that the afternoon will be extremely busy.
About 1 hour after the first consultations, Addi, aged 83, arrives at reception. He appears to have a pain in his chest and is immediately directed to the general practitioners. An echocardiogram reveals a significant valve problem: Addi’s heart is too weak to pump enough oxygen to his body’s tissues. This has led to pulmonary edema, as well as edema in his legs and pleural and abdominal effusion. To put it simply, Addi’s abdomen and lungs are filled with fluid.
His case is serious and requires immediate attention. The doctors consider draining the fluid before transferring him to the hospital, but decide that it would be more prudent to wait and have this procedure done under the better conditions of the hospital. Addi leaves by ambulance for the Zagora hospital, where he will receive immediate care.
A smile worth a thousand words
The general practitioners are not the only ones with a lot of work. The optical unit has been very busy today. Mohamed, an 8-year-old boy with Down syndrome, comes to Thibaut, Audrey and Maryem for a vision test. It is not uncommon for people with mental disabilities to have vision problems.
Mohamed is shy, and communication with the team is difficult. His vision is first tested using the phoropter, and this is followed by a vision acuity test. After the tests, Audrey and Thibaut get Mohamed to try different pairs of glasses and observe his reaction. After several attempts, Mohamed’s face lights up and, to their surprise, when Thibaut asks him if he likes the glasses, Mohamed replies “Oui”, in French and with a huge smile. The challenge is a success!
Surgeries
Just before lunch, a man with a mass on his back pays a visit to the doctors. They quickly perform an ultrasound to determine whether the mass is malignant. With relief, the team realize that it is a lipoma or benign tumor. The mass is removed by the two surgeons through a trouble-free surgical procedure.
Their next intervention would not have such a happy ending… Shortly after the operation, the doctors are solicited for another serious case. Several members of a family have come to seek help for another family member who has a brain tumour and is unable to travel to the village.
One of the doctors immediately makes his way to the patient’s home, where after examination he realizes that no treatment will be able to save the patient. He offers palliative care to relieve his pain as much as possible.
The rest of the day passes more calmly despite the large number of people who come to consult the caravan’s doctors. Once everyone has been seen and treated, the team packs away their equipment and heads into the desert for the 2nd marathon night. They set up camp in the middle of nowhere for a night under the stars before setting out the following morning for the 8th and final day of the 2018 edition.
SPOTLIGHT: General medicine
The caravan’s 5 general practitioners, Kanza, Zineb, Omar, Abdel and Anwar, receive large numbers of patients every day, many of whom have never seen a doctor before.
The first job of every unit in the caravan is to correctly analyse the patient’s symptoms, and the General medicine unit is no exception. In addition to overcoming a language barrier in some villages, the objective is to understand the source of the heath problem and to raise patient awareness about ways of eradicating the problem.
As Asmaa teaches her patients about the factors that can contribute to diabetes, the doctors have their own challenge, which consists of eliminating the causes of the medical problems they encounter. To do so, they do not simply treat the affliction, but work on prevention by teaching patients about the factors responsible for their ailments. This may take the form of simple dietary advice or suggestions for lifestyle changes, for example. To optimize the process, the doctors work together and engage in discussions with their patients.
This joint effort is extremely important because education and awareness-raising are the best way to produce medium- to long-term improvements in patient health. The work can be difficult and may require a significant investment in time and energy, but the patients’ smiles are often the best reward anyone could ask for!
Come back tomorrow for a spotlight on another of the caravan’s units!
PHOTOS
