And you're Going to Be a Doctor?!?

                What do you do when you receive a message that one of your classmates is sick and lost in Uganda without any place to stay?  Invite them to stay with you to make sure they are ok, of course.  Good idea until you find out that their mental stability is beyond questionable. 

About ten o’clock one night, a medical student shows up at my house upon the recommendation of my boss (who also happens to be this guy’s hero – kind of weird…).  The student, who has spent quite a bit of time in Gulu (northern Uganda) rolls up on a boda clearly disheveled and most likely strung out on who knows what.  Not only did he lose his bag and meds on the way to our house, he also lost the shirt off his own back.  Seriously, how do you lose the shirt you are wearing when riding a motorcycle?  I don’t mean to be condescending or judgmental, but, he’s in med school?!?  You would also think that when asking a medical student about their medical conditions (that are severe enough to consider being air evacuated home to the US), they would not be fixated on how they had gained weight during the past couple of months but instead would relay the most pertinent information.  Information like the raging infection in your toe that is probably the cause of your swollen leg or how you have been coughing up “stuff,” the past couple of days that may or may not be associated the GERD you have been experiencing.  All of this may be related to the steroids he has most likely been taking, the eight red bulls he has been drinking daily, or the cuts and scars all over his upper body.  Needless to say, it would’ve been a little uncomfortable for my roommate and me to handle him ourselves.  Luckily for us, a 2^nd year medical resident who is conducting cryptococcal meningitis research throughout the next month showed up the same night.  Also, I had been hanging out with Shaunessy, my neighbor from Colorado, just before this guy arrived.  Not only was it great to see her, but she is a pro at handling crazy medical situations in foreign countries since she has spent quite a bit of time working as a nurse in Uganda, Sudan, and Thailand.   Shau and the medical resident helped provide this guy with a little better medical advice than would have been provided otherwise, not to mention a little reassurance to my roommate and me.

Although he probably should have gone home Sunday night when he arrived at our house, somehow he has extended his own invitation and will be staying with us until Friday…

One of the treasures I have found since he has been staying with us.  "Dear Earthlings..."?