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 surgical complications …
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 space …
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 …