Saturday, July 26, 2008
Bill Frist: Why Africa Matters
Among American politicians, is there a greater champion of Africa than Bill Frist, the retired Republican Senator from Tennessee? George W. Bush is certainly the runner-up and there are politicians who have done their bit (particularly among the evangelicals), but Doctor Senator Frist actually goes there, rolls up his sleeves, scrubs in, and saves the lives of some of Africa's most suffering people. Frist's blog has some great stories quite obviously written by him personally. For example:
I woke up to a crystal blue sky in Maputo. I began the day performing a major lung operation for tuberculosis (pneumonectomy), and I ended the day discussing with the President of Mozambique the American people's commitment to fighting extreme poverty in his country.
At 7:30am, we departed for Maputo Central Hospital. The hospital is housed in a 100 year old building, but is a functional public hospital with 1,200 beds. All the doctors are government employees, and they make about $700 per month. The doctors are very prestigious figures in the community. In Mozambique, there are only 500 doctors for 20 million people, and there are very few specialists. In terms of equipment, there is one CT Scan, in Maputo, for 4 million people. By way of comparison, there are probably 32 in Nashville for about 1 million people.
Dr. Atilo Morais, a superb thoracic surgeon training in cardiac surgery, gave us a tour through the hospital. His patient, Elias Novela, a 59 year old man, had a history of tuberculosis (TB). His symptoms included shortness of breath, bloody coughing, and fevers. We reviewed his x-rays which presented a huge right lung mass, thought to be an empyema secondary to his TB. This man would die without surgery of his “bronchopleural fistula” that had developed because of the TB.
I operated with Dr. Morais having been given full surgical privileges for the duration of our stay. He speaks basic English, and I speak no Portuguese – but luckily cutting and sewing doesn't require any talking!
I explored the patient through the bed of the 6th right rib. We removed the empyema cavity, careful not to spill the purulent material within the TB abscess. This is a big operation, but one common in Maputo because of the high incidence of tuberculosis infection. We removed the entire lung, suturing closed the bronchus, the pulmonary artery and vein. The patient as of right now is recovering well. He will remain on anti-TB therapy and should have a good long-term course. This is something very very rare in the US because TB gets treated early.
Bonus post: In the category of the "butterfly effect," back in the day Bill Frist literally saved David Petraeus' life. How many more lives were saved as a result?
7 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Jul 26, 10:22:00 AM:
"How many more lives were saved as a result?"
Probably hundreds, maybe billions, we will never know. That is part of the draw of time travel stories, the endless "what if". In life we make our choices, and we never get to see what would have happened if a person went into a gang and sold drugs instead of going to medical school.
By , at
Sat Jul 26, 10:31:00 AM:
If there is any "service industry" that this country should have a surplus of it is doctors and nurses. Dr. Frist is a perfect example of why. We take quality medical care in this country for granted. All over the world there are billions who are not so blessed. One time I asked my father, the doctor, about the "good old days". His answer?
"Before penicillin there were no "good old days".
By 
Purple Avenger, at
Sat Jul 26, 01:49:00 PM:
We should be trying hard to get West Africa up to speed industrially.
They are in a great geographic location to be a counterbalance against China as a supplier of inexpensive manufactured goods to the west.
The Chinese are already making big moves in Africa. We would be fools to ignore this.
By Paradise, at
Sat Jul 26, 02:59:00 PM:
Bill Frist has been doing remarkable work in Africa for many years, with almost no publicity. When I first started reading his blogs about what he was doing, I was like many other people - wondering why not do that type of work in the United States. But as I continued to read his posts, he convinced me that Africa does matter and that it is in fact an issue of national security. If we can deny the terrorists a breeding ground for their hatred, that will be a big step in defeating them. Countries that have hope generally do not foster hatred. Thanks Senator/Doctor Frist for all that you do. You are a remarkable person.
By , at
Sat Jul 26, 09:03:00 PM:
> George W. Bush is certainly the runner-up
Here is a great article by Bob Geldof about Bush' achhievement in Africa.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717934-1,00.html
Vilmos
By , at
Mon Jul 28, 02:48:00 PM:
I thought this was a great post TH and I sent Frist's blog link to a 50ish woman and mother of an 07 Princeton grad. I was shocked at her reply. She thought sane people wouldn't believe a word posted on his blog, that underlings were doing the work while Frist took the credit, and the whole effort was nothing more than attempt at self-aggrandizement on Frist's part. It is sad to see that for at least some on the Left, a person with an 'R' after his name can do nothing good and decent.
By GreenmanTim, at
Tue Jul 29, 08:41:00 AM:
I'm with PA on the strategic value of investing in parts of Africa, though I recall a thread here where others had a different perspective on the importance of those resources and of countering China. After several years of volunteer service in southern Africa in the 1990s, it is clear to me there is a humanitarian value as well, be it from dedicated medical professionals like Frist or the investment in mosquito nets and AIDs prevention by the US Government or the Gates Foundation.
Regarding feeblemind's experience, I also agree. Aid and politics may be intertwined at the government level, but the good work of decent people of different stripes should not be dismissed categorically based on party affiliation.
