The Lassa Ward One Man's Fight Against One of the World's Deadliest Diseases

by Donaldson, Ross

• ISBN13: 9780312377014
• ISBN10: 0312377010
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-20
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

When Ross Donaldson gave up his comfy life in the U.S. to go into Sierra Leone, a country ravaged by fighting and plagued by conflict from neighboring Liberia, he was an idealistic student. When he left, he was lucky to be alive. In a hospital with few supplies, he had to care for patients afflicted with Lassa fever, a highly contagious hemorrhagic illness similar to Ebola. Forced to confront his own fear of the disease, he made life-and-death decisions in the face of a never-ending onslaught of the sick. Ultimately, he found himself not only fighting for the lives of others but for his own. The Lassa Ward is the memoir of a young man studying to be a physician, while making his way through a land where a battle against one of the world's deadliest diseases matches a struggle for human rights and decency. It is also the story of a young doctor who rises to the occasion and does his best to save lives, but not without finally confronting his own human frailty.

Author Biography

DR. ROSS I. DONALDSON is a UCLA medical professor who works in one of Los Angeles's main trauma centers, specializing in emergency medicine and global health. He is author of several medical texts and has been a humanitarian in some of the world’s most dangerous places. When in the States, he resides in Venice Beach, California.

Table of Contents

Journal Entry	p. 1
Prologue	p. 3
Swept Away
Swept Away	p. 9
The Rains	p. 16
Your Deed Is Your History	p. 22
Just Say No	p. 28
Little Buddhas	p. 33
Risky Business	p. 41
The Measure of Things	p. 47
The Lassa Ward
First Fee	p. 55
Dr. Conteh	p. 61
The Lassa Ward	p. 69
Technical Difficulties	p. 76
God's Will	p. 81
Friday Rituals	p. 89
A Foreign Funeral	p. 96
Alone
An Unexpected Delivery	p. 105
Scarcely Taller	p. 112
Alone	p. 117
Twenty-four Hours	p. 125
Barely Medicine	p. 133
In Deep	p. 140
First, Do No Harm	p. 146
A Visitor	p. 154
Another Drop	p. 161
Finally a Doctor
More Than Medicine	p. 169
Borrowed Chips	p. 177
Heal Thyself	p. 185
Dots of Hope	p. 190
A Tiny Miracle	p. 197
The Growing Darkness	p. 204
One Last Day	p. 208
Finally a Doctor	p. 213
Last Rites
Seeds of Suffering	p. 221
Soggy Footsteps	p. 229
Part of Africa	p. 236
Homecoming	p. 241
A Familiar Face	p. 246
Technologic Dreams	p. 254
Last Rites	p. 257
Epilogue	p. 264
A Note from the Author	p. 267
Acknowledgments	p. 269
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.