Arriving in Africa is hard to describe in words.
An assault on the senses is a more fitting way of describing landing in Addis and Nairobi. The sights, sounds, smells, colors, and people tell you that home is a long way away. After arriving in Kenya in 2011 for my first trip to Eldoret, this was by far the thing that made the transition from the US the most jarring.
Now, returning to Africa in 2014, traveling on Ethiopian Airlines, landing in Addis, transferring to Nairobi, I feel the same, and yet, more at home. The assault on the senses is the same, but now a more familiar controlled chaos. I understand some of the language, can converse at least in pleasantries, and can navigate my way around a Kenyan queue.
Yet, this time, I return, back again, with a new mission, and a new hope.
I return to Kenya in the hopes of expanding access to Palliative Care to Kenyan's afflicted with illnesses only spoken about in whispers. AIDS, Cancer, and Heart Failure. I return a different doctor, and I return to try and be worthy to serve the suffering.
In the coming days, weeks and months, I hope to share my journey as a Palliative Medicine physician, through the generous work done by Duke (dukeglobalhealth.org) and AMPATH (http://www.ampathkenya.org/) at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. I hope this narrative journey helps to bring more awareness to the needs of those in Sub-Saharan Africa who suffer from serious and life limiting illnesses.
Jason A. Webb, M.D.
Palliative Medicine Fellow
Duke University Medical Center
