So I will not talk about how all the doctor’s accommodation around my hospital has been taken over by politicians, political businesses and non medical staff. I can only talk about what has happened in the last two weeks.

Dr Teddy Totimeh (L) with Dr. Sandvik

When I left the operating theater at 3am that Friday, I was double-minded. I was not sure I should be going home. I wanted to stay at the hospital, sleep and then get home in the morning. But I really wanted to be somewhere else Saturday morning. I thought it would be helpful to get some sleep in my own bed for a few hours before setting out.

I will think about them often in the days ahead. Anytime I am tempted to stop trying to solve a problem, I will remember their smiles. When the troubles of ....

On Priority

I have just left a conference that hosted 600 neurosurgeons from all over the world. It has been an intensive 4 days packed with knowledge that is mind boggling in its scope. It is amazing, what has been achieved over the last few decades, by people who have dedicated their lives to the brains and spines of children. There were topics ranging from the routine, to the outright futuristic.

He also reminds me of the prerequisite for any difference that medical knowledge can make in the lives of the people who come to our hospital: team work. There is no other way.

On Teamwork. Image credit - oldtownetitle

One client walked into my consulting room 3 weeks ago. He sat in my consulting room, engaging with me on current happenings, and lifted me up in a way he would never know. The privilege of being involved in his life is singularly mine. The message that his life carried for me, and members of my team, was direct: Do not give up.

It is difficult to look forward with hope. It is difficult to see the same shadows that familiar trees have cast, and ...

On Power

When I saw the CT scan my heart sank. The beautiful symmetry that the brain has, the different shades that white and grey matter imprint on the LCD screen were gone. The lines that divide the electrical generating cells, from the transmitting cells, were gone. This was the aftermath of battle, and the brain cells had lost the ultimate war. And now even as the person’s heart and lungs worked together in the unison that is life’s rhythm, the brain was gone. Life had ended. And there was nothing that we could do about what was going to happen in the next few days.