Photo Journal

Kumbo town, where Banso hospital is located. 

Tabopi ("Tah-Boe-Pee") and Widget, our two Cameroonian loving cats

This is a brain CT scan. I'm not a radiologist, but I can tell something's wrong (look for the asymmetry).

Bryan and I at a friend's party. 

Jessica Spanglar, pilot's wife, mother of five, friend extraordinaire.  

Yes, the helicopter pilot's family DOES hang their soap from a helicopter.  (S.I.L. is a faith-based linguistic nonprofit that works with undocumented languages, Bible translation, etc. They need a pilot to help their folks move around and many other things.) And they're recruiting another pilot, let us know if you're interested in more info!

Mary posing with some of the ladies at mhGAP course. ("Everyone place your hands on your waist," she said.) 

Home visit. Mary stopped by the Spangler's to chat about a few medical things with Jessica, in their private "Office" (bedroom), and gradually all the kids came in. Best doctor's office ever!

Common public health poster. "VIH" is the French version of "HIV."  

Our sweet kitten, Tabopi.  

Quinta (white shirt with blue sleeves) is one of the mental health nurses we work with. Her daughter (left) and grandson (center) come to "dance sport" (aerobics led by one hospital nurse practitioner).

One of my favorite patients. She came in with leg infection after a motorcycle accident. A few days in, we discovered she also broke her hand in the same accident, but didn't tell us because she couldn't afford the surgery. Xray below. Despite her pain and various obstacles, she always greeted me with a smile and "thank you doctor, thank you." 

Epilepsy support group! Epilepsy is included in the "mental health" gap action plan (mhGAP) by the W.H.O. (World Health Organization) because, in many low and middle income countries, it carries a similar stigma. For example, many families will stop sending their child to school when they start having seizures. Banso's mental health department has been running these support groups for a few years now. This one had >60 people attending, so it recently split into two groups. The patients lead the other one on their own.  

This smiling dude had seizures for years, untreated. One day he had a seizure and fell into their house cooking fire, burning off many many of his fingers. He received surgery to amputate the necrotic fingers and save the functional finger. He's smiling today because he can still farm with his right hand, and he's attending epilepsy support group for the first time. 

This old Pa has Parkinson's disease (shuffling gait, rigidity, pill-rolling tremor, masked facies), and this is the first time I've ever seen him smile. His family is fairly well-to-do and they always come to follow-up on time. Unfortunately, their health literacy has been poor, and they have given him too much or too little of the medications, causing various complications. (Elderly folks can be more sensitive to medications than most). 

Bryan's cheese-making station.  

Our lovely house at Banso, half of a duplex.  

Hand-washing demonstration for the staff. The hospital makes their own hand-sanitizer and placing it outside each entrance. 

One of my favorite patients. I first met her in the hospital for her untreated HIV and cryptococcal meningitis (a type of meningitis that often kills people, despite its expensive treatment). She recovered from that, but then developed PCP pneumonia. After two months, she was finally well enough to be discharged. A few months later, she was readmitted for another pneumonia, but I was happy to see her HIV was well under control. She often hangs around longer than her illnesses, waiting for her family to arrive to pay her bill. 

I can never take enough pictures of the beautiful fabrics drying on the hospital lawns.  

 Some wonderful African doctors (far left is Dr. Johnson, a Nigerian surgeon who gave up an academic position to come help out in the CBC; second-from the right, Dr. Ben Malikidogo, a surgeon from the Democratic Republic of Congo trained in the PACCS program at Mbingo; and two house officers. 

A pa we met in the market makes these "toys" for kids to help them learn to read and count. He was so proud to show off his invention. And he sells them for cheap!

Itoe is a social worker we work with in the mental health department. He's self-taught himself so much about mental health, has a great work-ethic, tends to be a snazzy-dresser, and has a great sense of humor.  Plus he puts up with our foreign senses of humor, and often helps explain local culture to us.  

Just a normal road on the way to a village health center. It's not even rainy season yet! 

Nadege is a mental health nurse and head of Banso's mental health departement. She's standing at the front, giving an anti-stigma educational talk to one health center during a staff meeting. 

A "Cafe" on top of a hill near Banso: just a 30 minute hike, for this great view. Had fun when a friend (Dr. Glenn) from Mbingo came to visit! 

This patient (sorry so small!) is storing her IV bottle on her head so she can get some time outside the ward, a common method of transporting "goods." 

mhGAP seminar - classroom all set up! 

Bryan, I, and one mental health nurse, dressed like teachers! 

 Small groups working on role-plays during mhGAP seminar.

Nadege (head mental health nurse) teaching the introduction for our mhGAP seminar #2. 

mhGAP Cameroon, group #1.  

mhGAP Cameroon, Group #2

mhGAP is the W.H.O.'s mental health curriculum for generalists. We've become huge fans!

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A beautiful rainy day at the hospital.  

Nadege got married! And Bryan and I got to go. Weddings in Cameroonian typically start 1-2hours late and last 3-4 hours, then the reception... This one was short, at only 2 hours in length. 

Mary really likes Nadege's nephew "B".

Mary helped with a medical evacuation of an ex-pat (that means "non-Cameroonian, usually from Canada, the U.S., or Europe). This was Mark Spangler (the S.I.L. pilot) and his family helping load the plane.  

While the plane is taking off, the kids (and Mary) rode to the end of the runway to wave (on the top of the car, of course).  

We got to talk to a camera crew from Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. You can tell they're from the capital, and not a village, from their modern clothing. 

Mary had a silly day practicing carrying bananas on her head. 

 No bulldozers here. When you need to move a pile of dirt, these boys form a "bucket brigade" and get the job done!

  

Dr. Norman James (surgeon), wife Theresa ("Teri," nurse), and their grandson, Eugene, have been coming to Banso for many many many years. We loved hearing their stories, learning about the history of Banso, seeking their counsel on difficult cases, and hanging with their grandson. Hoping they come back next year!

Even though Banso is a Christian hospital, they have many Muslim patients.  

 Just some cute cabbage plants, chilling on a bench. 

Kumbo town. and panoramic. 

Fabric in the market is so beautiful, I could look at it for hours. Sometimes you come across unusual prints, prompting Bryan to make jokes...
Bryan: "Hey look, it's Stump-of-Life fabric!"

Mary: "Or maybe The Giving Tree...." 

Mary, Nadege, and Itoe, mailing the first lesson in their mhGAP/mental health distance course.  

 Nadege and Mary consult together on a patient. Notice the Fulani interpreter (and the awesome confidentiality respecting angle at which Mary took this photo - i.e. you can't see the patient or family's faces!).  

mental health department and social workers came over for a meal. They're a lot of fun.  

I can't wait to see what these young Cameroonians end up doing with the rest of their lives!  

The road to church. 

The little church nearby that we plan to attend when we return to Cameroon.  

Thanks to our friend Eunice for the awesome fabric Bryan doesn't like bright colors, but Mary (who loves colors, obviously) talked him into at least having colored trim. 

Scolastica and her husband. "Scola" is a nurse in the mental health department.  

 Last day photo with the mental health department. 

A few videos of beautiful music at church.