A Doctor Becomes A Patient
- 10 minutes ago
- 2 min read
On the morning of March 3rd, the telephone rang. I received a request for a Medevac. The injured man would not survive being transported by land. So, I put my office work aside and immediately began making preparations.
Our administrative assistant, Felana, gathered all the necessary information using our MEDEVAC checklist: Patient: male, 58 years old, physician, injuries from a machete attack. Condition stable and capable of being transported. Location: a mining site with miners’ straw-thatched huts next to the village of Sahondralava. Our medical officer, the doctor, who was to accompany us on the flight, confirmed the necessity of this rescue flight. As Sahondralava was 300 km (186 mi) away, I asked our mechanic, Njaka, to fill the tank and pack six additional fuel canisters in the luggage compartment.
Three hours later, we were in the air. The weather was perfect, allowing us to enjoy the 90-minute flight over Madagascar’s untouched nature and the incredible landscape. We actually found the specified village and, after a brief search, the mine as well. A piece of cloth on a long stick indicated where the landing strip was. The doctor immediately attended to the patient while I emptied the kerosene from the canisters into the helicopter’s fuel tank. I instructed the mechanic, Njaka, to search the luggage for precious stones, gold or silver. There had already been instances where the helicopter had to return without the patient after they were exposed as a smuggler...
On the return flight, we learned what had happened to the man. He had heard someone knocking on his door around midnight. He was then asked to treat two patients. The doctor conscientiously started to treat the ‘injured’ men. But when he turned around, they attacked him with a machete. In addition to neck injuries, he also suffered a fractured skull, which can be life-threatening if left untreated. He said that he had called us because he had heard about a previous Medevac involving a teenager who had been gored by a bull. I let him know that we do this out of Christian charity. Overjoyed, he praised God.
Ernst, Pilot
Ernst and Njaka with the docter in the background und Njaka mit dem Arzt im Hintergrund The mine near the village of Sahondralava The doctor treating the injured doctor/patient Approach to our airport base
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