March 6th; treatment day

"Medicine is a service much more than a science...and when medicine is delivered with dignity to the impoverished sick, it becomes pragmatic solidarity."

~ Dr. Paul Farmer

...

Today is a treatment day. After rising I walk out into the the living room of Wana Duma house, already full of school-children dressed in plaid uniforms; the girls in dresses and the boys in slacks and pressed shirts. A group of young men crowd around the dining room table, joking with one another over a breakfast of eggs and toast, and little children in cut-off slacks and over sized wool sweaters run around with crayons and paper in their hands.

Miriam and Lucy

Walking into the busy room I greet Doula, who is immersed in his studies but looks up to say, "Jambo." Suzanne comes downstairs, followed by Mercy, and Suzanne introduces me to the young men at the table, Peter, Steven, and Joseph. Two of the young men are currently in carpentry school, learning to build furniture and wooden structures, and he plan opening their own furniture house. Peter owns a motorcycle repair shop in town, independently running his own small business. For Suzanne, these young men are incredible success stories, and it is easy to tell how fond she is all of them.

While Dr. Steve prepares to receive patients upstairs, I get my traveling guitar from my room and begin to play music for the children. Mercy mentions that her favorite music is country music, a musical taste shared by many of the children, though she also enjoys rhythm and blues and reggae. As I play her chords of country songs I know, she brings over a stack of her favorite cds and settles down in the chair next to mine.
Upstairs Dr. Steve begins seeing patients, working with immuno-compromised patients by recommending strategies for strengthening the immune system through nutrition and lifestyle patterns, occasionally prescribing supplements such as probiotics and multivitamins. He also checks the clarity of breath by listening to the children's lungs through his stethoscope. Many of the children avoid eye contact and are painfully shy, especially the younger patients, and they radiate a sense of humility and health.

Dr. Steve and Susan

For anyone unfamiliar with the practice of Naturopathic Medicine, it is a system of healing based on the fundamental idea that the human body, like nature, has the innate ability to heal itself. In line with this belief, the Naturopathic physician serves her/his patient as a teacher and facilitator of health, removing the obstacles to cure. These obstacles may include dietary, genetic, environmental, or mental/emotional/spiritual problems. Like medical doctors, naturopaths attend a rigorous four-year medical school, and are trained in the sciences, pharmacology, botanical medicine, and physical medicine among other subjects. Although Dr. Steve is trained in pharmacology and has the right to prescribe, he is here to work with the patients by strengthening their immune systems using simple methods. It is important to note, however, that with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical drugs are one hundred percent necessary as well.

...

After taking the histories of twenty patients, Dr. Steve and I spend a leisurely afternoon reading, writing, and playing music, again heading off to bed early to catch up on lost sleep.

Dr. Steve and Sarah

Suzanne and Lucy