Daktari

by Thomas D. Rees

In 1957 three plastic surgeons--Sir Archibald McIndoe, Dr. Michael Wood, and Dr. Thomas D. Rees, the sole surviving founder--began what was then called "The Flying Doctors Service of Africa." These surgeons devoted the full measure of their collective time, energy, and creativity to make their vision a reality: to bring specialist surgical care to Africa's most remote areas and improve the lives of children and families who, through no fault of their own, experience extreme suffering and disfigurement. They were the first to bring reconstructive surgery to East Africa utilizing light airplanes and itinerant surgeons who would use their expertise to treat victims of burns, congenital deformities, trauma, animal bites, cancer, and deformities resulting from endemic tropical diseases. With experience, and responding to the overwhelming health needs of the rural population and urban poor, the parameters of what became the Flying Doctor Services of East Africa evolved to include public health, environmental medicine, training and education of health care workers, nomadic health care, and emergency medical response. Today, the Flying Doctors of East Africa through it's parent organization, the African Medical Research and Education Foundation (AMREF) is the largest indigenous international health development non-governmental organization in sub-Sahara Africa operating in nine African countries with a full-time staff of over 600, 96% of whom are of African origin. The Flying Doctor Services of East Africa has evacuated over 50,000 emergency patients from the bush to urban hospitals. It has flown over 12 million miles, and performed more than 50,000 major operations. THOMAS D. REES, M.D., was born and raised in Utah, the son of a University Professor, and a second generation descendent of Mormon Pioneers. After graduating from the University of Utah Medical School and completing a prestigious fellowship in plastic surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Great Britain, he began a distinguished forty-three year career in New York City as a practicing plastic surgeon, educator, author, and innovator in his field. Since 1957, he has made almost annual trips to East Africa on behalf of the Flying Doctors of East Africa. He is a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at New York University School of Medicine, Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital, and senior surgeon to the Institute for Reconstructive Surgery. A frequent lecturer at medical institutions, symposia, and forums all over the World. Dr. Rees is also the author of more than 140 medical articles and six medical texts including the two-volume "Aesthetic Plastic Surgery," a classic for doctors-in-training, and "More Than Just A Pretty Face" (Little Brown), a book for the general public. His many TV appearances include NBC News "The Early Show," "Live with Regis and Kathy Lee," and ABC's "Morning Show." He has been an avid aviator, skier, fly fisherman, and horseman. His current passion is sculpting African animals and people. He resides in Quogue, New York, and Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Nan.

Genres: Africa

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Riley Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling memoir of the incredible life of Dr. Rees… including lots of aviating, operating, Cold War spies, natural beauty, and even Princess Di! This man lived a truly magnificent life and understandably, someone told him to write this sh*t down….

However, not necessarily a page turner. Each chapter stood as a separate anecdote from the adventures of AMREF and didn’t really build or arch to any type of conclusion. As pretty much the target demographic of this book (was operating in Africa while reading it) it was so terribly dated by both heavy white savior and sexist remarks I had to walk away a few times. Would recommend for anyone wanting a no BS first hand account of the development of intl healthcare aid on the continent.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rhinoceros wound of a Maasai moran (warrior) in a rustic farmhouse on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro opens our author's experience with wounds not common in a typical 'western' emergency room. This Maasai moran "had already lost a great deal of blood. Despite the severe wound, he had managed to walk several miles while holding his intestines in place with his old blanket." Now, time for surgery sans any means of employing general anesthesia for the patient. "A couple of stiff belts of Scotch along with an injection of morphine" was all that was available for the patient's pain relief and vodka for sterilization. Each of the 'Flying Doctors' of East Africa sure had their surgical hands full, deserving of the title 'Bwana Daktari'.

This is certainly an exhilarating read with plenty of descriptive highlights along its literary pathway. Masterful surgeries, a military coup, wild African creatures, and more, abound throughout this pioneering record of bravery. We read of some of the most extraordinary surgical problems encountered, faced head-on, and performed with the most rudimentary supplies and equipment one would expect to be available anywhere throughout the rural African continent at that time.

- Excerpts:

"As we buzzed along at about a hundred miles an hour, the noise of the plane’s engine and its shadow skimming along the ground startled the small herds of game that inhabited the plains southest of the city. Zebras scattered in clouds of dust in every direction, kicking their hooves, bucking and snorting. Giraffes, who were less impressed, gazed up at us with their long arching necks; a few sped away with a long, loping grace. Astonished kongoni (hartebeest) charged with their horns low to the ground, searching for the cause of the sudden disturbance."

"The equatorial night was inky black. No lights showed along the roadside, only the stars twinkling brightly through the unpolluted sky."

"During my travels in Africa, I gained a healthy respect for the work of missionaries. They were largely unsung heroes who contributed enormously to the well-being of rural Africans, especially in health care and to their progress in education. I found the great majority of them to be hardworking, selfless and dedicated and in almost all cases they sincerely cared about people and not the accoutrements of modern society."

"The Mennonites’ devotion to their patients, and the high level of medical care they provided, earned our profound respect and admiration. Their sense of cleanliness and orderliness was evident by the first-rate hospital they ran. Few of the many hospitals that I have visited since have matched the standards of excellence of Shirati where an almost perfect symbiosis existed between the staff and the patients... The old biblical concept of hospitality was never more evident at any bush hospital than at Shirati. The Mennonites truly lived their faith."

"Amin’s rule of Uganda was a showcase of terror and horror of our time. Hundreds of thousands were tortured and slaughtered by this despot. Uganda was destroyed as a country, stripped of human, agricultural and animal resources. Schools, universities and hospitals were closed, and all social services became extinct. During the Ugandan revolution, the Flying Doctors were forced to cancel all their activities in the country. Our equipment, including eight radios located in rural hospitals, was confiscated by Amin."

"The only road from Nairobi to Ethiopia runs north from Archer’s Post near the Samburu Game Reserve. It is maintained by the government at irregular intervals, depending on available funds. Civilian travel on this road can be dangerous, due to ongoing unrest and frequent civil wars in neighboring countries. Armed gangs of bandits, poachers and exiled soldiers from Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan often rove the area, seeking victims. Well adapted to life in the desert, such bandit gangs lent an air of uncertainty to every trip through the region."

- Link:

AMREF Flying Doctors Timeline: https://flydoc.org/timeline/

[Jeff Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My father was a general surgeon in Uganda (where I was born) and Tanzania in the late 50s and all of the 60s. He is now 91 years old. I read a few pages each day to him from this book. Both of us are enjoying the stories. The adventures of the 3 doctors triggers many memories for my Dad. The book is well written, interesting, and informative.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stories. In some sense a shame that there are no more frontiers like this in medicine. Smart decision by the author to put the chapter on his medical/surgical training at the end of the book and to make it brief. Every doctor thinks their residency stories are interesting and unique but they're all boring and the same!

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book of the author's tales of serving as a Flying doctor in Africa. Well written and easy to read.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a memoir by one of the three founders of The Flying Doctors Service of East Africa. It is basically a collection of disconnected anecdotes about some of his experiences during his annual "medical safaris" to work with this organization from about 1957 until about 2000. It doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive history of this important organization and doesn't really stand well on its own. However it provides a nice companion to Michael Wood's "Go an Extra Mile" which should be read first.