Recent News

The Sanga Leopard

Last Spring I treated an eight yr. boy who was literally pulled from the jaws of a leopard by his 13 yr. sister less than 100 ft from the front door of his house. With several bad bites on the neck and one on the left arm he was brought to SMH where he was treated and recovered without complications. At that time the family was very busy and we were not able to get the whole story first hand, especially from the sister who was the real heroine of the event. Quite recently hospital personnel were able to find the family and bring them to the hospital so the whole story could be told. It happened in March of 2009 and with our administrative staff translating this is what we were able to piece together.

Kumar Lama and his sister, Sajana, were playing just outside the house trying to knock down the bats that came at that hour with long poles as the light was fading in the evening. Kumar ran a little further from the house, probably not more than 30 ft., just behind the woodpile, right where the leopard was waiting. A moment of silence, then suddenly his sister heard a desperate cry, and only once. Immediately she ran for her little brother who by that time had already been dragged down three levels of terrace (all farming is done on terraces in the mountains of Nepal). But in seconds she reached her brother and mindless of the large animal gripping the boy by the neck she grabbed his feet and continued screaming leopard, leopard! Unfortunately father was away in another village but mother and neighbors came running. No doubt her heels were dug in but she was no match for a full grown leopard and she was being dragged with her brother further down the mountain. How long the tug of war continued Sajana cannot remember, probably less than a couple of minutes and with the all the noise the leopard relented and disappeared into the night.

Now the bleeding boy was gathered up and with the help of neighbors carried up and down the hills at least 45 minutes to reach the main road. From there is was only a fifteen or twenty minutes to the hospital. In the ER it was quickly established that in spite of the ordeal, vital signs were stable and preparations were made to examine his four neck and one forearm wounds in more detail in the operating room under general anesthesia. In the operating room it was determined the leopard bites, deep as they were, had somehow missed all critical structures and after cleansing they were closed.

Recovery was uneventful, but as more questions were asked the seriousness of this single attack was magnified several fold. At least three other children, ages 8-11 have been attacked and killed over the last two or three years, all in this same vicinity, the last one was just last week. Going back a few more years there was also an unprovoked attack of a 28 yr. male.

The obvious question is what to do. Common folk are not allowed to carry weapons, Leopards are extremely crafty and are believed to detect poisoned meat immediately, and there is no public resource to call upon to track and trap or kill the leopard. Amongst Hindu peoples there is a definite reluctance to kill any animal unless required by a religious rite, but clearly this animal has overstepped his privileges. Appeals to the regional government have resulted in permission to kill the animal but no help in doing so. When absolutely required, soldiers or policemen are usually called on to kill an animal but they are not skilled in tracking and trapping. Attempts to lure the animal into a trap have proved futile. The village leadership has requested the forest service recompense any family hereafter that loses a child to the leopard with 150,000.00 rupees (about 2000. USD).

One of the interesting features of this problem has been the attitude expressed by various Nepali persons, some from the Sanga area and another from further away. I was seeing a child in the ER for unrelated minor trauma whose family happened to be from the town of Sanga. I asked the father several questions about the leopard problem and it seemed he was really not all that concerned. He personally doubted anyone had ever gotten permission to kill the leopard. He insisted if permission were granted the police would be used to conduct a hunt and with 30 or 40 persons they would go into the area, find the leopard and kill it. A personal acquaintance of ours living in the hills surrounding Banepa insisted the problem was with the people of Sanga. He said they didn't respect the environment and unnecessarily antagonize the wildlife, comparing the leopard to a dog which bites only if you irritate him. He felt the leopard could easily be poisoned if it had clearly become a preferential man eater.

The bottom line seems to be this. The rural people of Nepal must contend with many hazards and leopards attacking children is just one.

Over 2800 lives have been transformed by Sydney Adventists humanitarian aid programs  and more programs are planned. Nepalese boy Agani Kathariya was eight years old when a kerosene lamp set his bed alight and despite local treatment for his burns, slow contraction of the skin in subsequent years led to horrific disfigurement. Fijian baby girl Ikinesi Lewase was only one year old when a heart defect was detected that if left untreated, would have killed her. Thankfully both Agani and Ikinesi were treated by members of the volunteer medical and nursing teams co-ordinate under the humanitarian aid program of Sydney Adventist Hospital.
HealthCare Outreach, the name adopted to cover the various programs developed to meet international medical needs, first started in 1986 as Operation Open Heart to treat people dying of rheumatic disease in Tonga.
The program soon expanded and more than 95 trips have now been made by more than 1500 volunteers, with more than 2800 surgeries on men women and children in other countries including Fiji, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Rwanda. Volunteers come from hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. Programs include Operation Open Heart, Cambodia Orthopedic and Nepal Reconstructive Surgery  with plans to extend to gynecological surgeries in Nepal in 2010.
The programs aim to diagnose, do surgeries, provide training to local medical, nursing and allied health staff, improve equipment and contribute to the preventative health program of the country. Volunteers provide their expertise free of charge and contribute towards their own travel expenses. The programs are supported by AusAID, Rotary, the Royal Australian College of Surgeons, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and other community service organizations, medical companies and individuals.
Dr. David Pennington, Senior Plastic Surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney and long time member of the Nepal Reconstructive Surgery team, says he was originally drawn to the program through friendship with Dr. Charles Sharpe, the founder of the program.
I found the huge need of the Nepali people for reconstructive surgery in the area of burns scarring and contractures to be a void which I felt we could help fill, and also to bring some training and new techniques to the surgeons in Nepal to assist them in their own efforts to help these people. Says Dr. Pennington.  Some of the more memorable times included straightening the limbs of many patients who had severe contractures which had prevented them from walking and straightening elbows, shoulders, wrists and fingers and hands that were impairing normal function, he continues.
One lady whose face was almost completely burnt away was an extreme challenge. We made a start by correcting severe contractures of her eyelids, hopefully preventing the likelihood of future blindness.
Pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr, Ian Nicholson operates in Sydney at both the San and Westmead Hospitals and has volunteered for more than 15 trips since 1992.
The most heart wrenching thing for me is to have to choose one patient over another for treatment in countries like Fiji, says Dr Nicholson. We have to make a medical assessment as to who will benefit most. As a parent of children myself, my greatest joy is watching a previously sick child, running from the hospital after their recovery.
Pam Reid a cardiac theater nurse at the San is a veteran of Operation Open Heart having completed multiple tours of duty to Fiji, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, and Papua new Guinea.
One of the great satisfactions is that I've passed on the skills and knowledge I've acquired, says Pam. The Fijian nurses can now work independently in surgery with visiting surgeons and the Fijian medical teams are becoming totally self-sufficient.
Teams can be up to 40-odd strong with specialized medical and health personnel including surgeons, anesthetists, physiotherapists, intensive care and operating theater nurses and bio-medical technicians.
In normally just two weeks a team might perform anything up to 60 operations. Cardiac teams can do open and closed heart surgeries, the implantation of permanent cardiac pacemakers, treating patients suffering from congenital heart defects such as hole in the heart to severe conditions such as ‘blue baby syndrome, caused by multiple holes in the heart. Another major component of the Operation Open Heart surgical program is the treatment of rheumatic heart valve diseases such as valve repair, the opening of narrowed valves and the replacement of severely damaged valves with artificial valves. The local patients if forced to travel to Australia for their treatment could face bills of over $25,000.
Heart disease is one of the most common birth defects globally, affecting millions of children around the world, “ says Melanie Windus, veteran of many Operation Open Heart trips to Fiji. It is estimated that a third of these children will die before their first birthday because of lack of appropriate care. The whole operation is an intense logistical effort often requiring the transport from Australia of more than two tones of medical equipment and supplies, including syringes, dressings, painkillers and the state-of-the-art heart and lung machine. Generous sponsors including Air Pacific, St Jude Medical, 3M, Kimberly Clark, and the Sanitarium Health Food Company make it possible.
Sydney Adventist Hospital Nursing Executive Officer Mrs. Annette Baldwin is a veteran of 15 of the more than 95 trips made during the last 23 years. She says: I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the people of the people who travel across the world to save the lives of people the have never met. What they achieve is truly inspiring. Up to 50 patients can commonly be operated on in one 14-day trip.
Manoa Rokotovitovi had life-saving surgery when he required a replacement heart valve. His family considered themselves lucky that he was chosen for the surgery by the visiting team.
I give thanks, says Saimone Ravivi, Manoa's father. Manoa is very lucky because we would not have been able to afford to send him for surgery. Without surgery, Manoa's heart would fail and he would die. Going on a HealthCare Outreach Trip changes life forever. says team member Cathy Nolan. It makes you realize the things you think are important are not. When you see the struggle they got through everyday, they have so little yet they are so happy, it makes me very humble. What they give back to us is more than what we can do for them.
John Sanberg, team Leader, Nepal Reconstructive Surgery Program says: What keeps me going back? The camaraderie of the team members; the meals together sharing the experiences of the day; learning about the lives of each patient  how they walked for days to get there, or how they manage poverty. How we arrive to see 60 patients with deformed faces and bodies and 10 days later we leave as they wave to us as a group of normal people for some, they have never known what normal means, and we all have tears in our eyes. That's why I keep going back!
The Altruism of volunteers in the Sydney Adventist Hospital's HealthCare Outreach Program is inspiring. They transform and save the lives of people they've never met, and share their skills with local medical and nursing teams in the hope they can leave a legacy of self-sufficiency. They are great ambassadors for Australia.  said Dr Brendan Nelson, the former Education Minister and Federal Member for Bradfield. 

This years team will be arriving at Scheer Memorial Hospital on the 21 of March!  We look forward to working with them again this year.

15 dedicated members of the Centrua health care team will be arriving at Scheer in February, consisting again of a GYN surgical team and a community health team. There will also be two orthopedic surgeons coming!

Participants planning to participate are Dr Robert Westermeyer, Dr Jordan Wright, Alexandra Janson, RN, Sean Jasnson, as a volunteer in the community health team. In the surgical team Dr Cher Moseman, Dr, Lorri Fulkerson, Dr Tom Helpenstell are the 3 surgeons, Leann Coenen and Kimberly Thompson are nurse anesthetists, Lynda Kithil, Tiffany Alley and Catherine Hearne are nurses on the team and Mary Jo O'Connell the surgical technician. The team is lead by Greg Hodgson and Jan Lovelady will be volunteering with them as well.

The GYN team plans to treat at least 25 women with uterine prolaps and The orthopedics and community health teams will be kept busy as well. Thank you so much for your interest in serving Nepal!