AntarcticDoctor

The BMJ has published a paper on Rogozov’s operation, co-authored by his son:
http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b4965.full

We sailed from Ushuaia at 18h30 on the evening of 30 December, setting out into the Beagle Channel in excellent conditions with flat seas.  Earlier in the day, while the expedition participants were away on a tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park, I had visited the ship for a handover from the doctor on the previous charter.  He was a gentlemanly New Zealander, and an anaesthetist to boot: we immediately got along well.  The medical facilities aboard the MV Polar Star are more basic than those with which I am familiar.  There is a small treatment room that fits one examination bed, a rack of gas tanks, a small bar fridge and numerous cupboards along the walls.  A large operating light on a boom is tied to the bulkhead to prevent it swinging; anaesthesia is via syringe or a swift swing of the portable oxygen bottle (*cheeky grin*).  Medical stocks are basic but cover the most important items.  I found a ‘recent’ inventory – July 2009.  There is an AED but no defibrillator, no radiographic equipment, and sterilisation is by boiling items in the kitchen cooker.  It’s expedition medicine in action. A few extra items needed to be acquired for the pharmacopeia, and so I walked into town with Craig Poore, the expedition historian.   We strolled the length of Ushuaia to find a specific large supermarket, with directions to walk until we were sure it was too far, and then just a little bit more. This proved to be an accurate description.  On returning, I ventured into one of the pharmacies in the main road armed with a letter of accreditation, medical qualifications, medical board registration, and several other forms of ID.  I introduced myself as the ship’s doctor, and proceeded to acquire a large bag-load of prescription drugs.  I walked out with my loot without writing a script or even showing proof that I was indeed a purveyor of the arts of Aesculapius and Panacea rather than a back-street meth maker.  Viva Argentina!

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As is so readily apparent, I have been very silent since returning from Antactica.  For this I apologise.

Life moved swiftly on; I still have had precious time to dwell on the experience and what it means to have been and returned.  I think of Frank Hurley’s words after the epic adventure he endured with Shackleton: “After the vastness of Antarctica, civilisation seemed somewhat empty“.  I miss the ice, and look forward to returning, but life is not empty by any means.  On my return I was offered and accepted a fantastic job in anesthetics and critical care at a great trauma and emergency hospital; I’m back to flying my glider at every opportunity; the mountains and sea are just where I left them and begging for attention.  Life is good.

I will be trying to continue writing and photographing and putting it up for perusal on another blog – www.wildmedic.co.za – until I amhead south for the summer.  Yes, I’m going back (more briefly, mom!).  Details to follow…