Blog – Page 6 – Earth Mission

Pukinyaw in the Driver’s Seat

Last year, on the USA Pukinyaw (Karen) Tour, you were introduced to the Daily Dhee, which was our daily update as we drove around the USA. Since then, the written form of the Daily Dhee has been sadly neglected by the press. It has been decided that this grave error must be rectified. Don’t worry, the pun was intentional. The […]

Naw Ger Mwee Paw

Ger Mwee Paw was an 18-year-old young, Karen woman who came to our training clinic in the jungle a few years ago. On admission to the hospital, she weighed 25 kilos and was severely anemic. From her history and physical exam, we suspected she had a type of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease, possibly a choriocarcinoma. Judging […]

New Beginnings

Our beloved lab technician TK came bouncing across the road with his motor cycle helmet still on his head announcing “It is good- we can start”. What I actually heard in a way off place in my mind was “And now let the wild rumpus start”. For no other reason than it seemed the right […]

An Imperforate Anus

Dah Ney Htoo arrived at the our hospital in the middle of the afternoon. He was three days old and had been born without an anus. His poor little abdomen looked like a balloon ready to pop. His innocent tiny face reflecting a suggestion of Down's syndrome, registered no complaints. He actually looked unbelievably alert. Yet Dah Ney...

Obstructed Labor

We all have to die someday. I get that. All of our lives hold a measure of suffering. I understand that. But not this. For a woman to die from obstructed labour is an unimaginable horror that still happens here in the jungle. This is actually an almost unheard of event in our modern world. Women do die from the […]

Transitions

Two young Karen men, sweaty, breathless and moving fast carried a long bamboo pole with a hammock strung closely underneath. In the hammock a young pregnant woman moaned with labor pains. Like the reserve horses of a pony express relay team, several more young men ran along the narrow trail behind the precious load. Surrounded […]

A Healing

Almost every time I do my month long rotation of medical teaching at the Jungle School of Medicine (JSMK), I end up with a case that is way over my head. This time, he was already waiting for me before I even arrived. A stoic 5 year old Karen boy lay quietly on the first floor […]

Poe Kaw Moo

Saw Poe Kaw Moo comes from a remote area in Karen State, Burma. His family, like most Karen families in Burma, provides for their livelihood through subsistence farming. They grow rice and all the food needed to feed their family of 8 for the year. Poe Kaw Moo’s family took him to the nearest clinic, […]

Page 6 of 6«‹4 56