Lauralee Morris
Dr. Lauralee Morris is a a general practitioner working for the Canadian branch of aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Currently on her first mission with MSF, she is working in Lankien, Southern Sudan where MSF delivers basic health care services, including pregnancy care, therapeutic feeding, and programs for the treatment of tuberculosis and Kala Azar.
The Baby in Tukul #3
Author: Lauralee Morris
Tukul 3 is uncharacteristically quiet and cool. There is only one tiny patient here, lying on a wooden bed under a mosquito net. She is all of 5 days old. The babys mother divides her attention between her sick newborn and her older child who plays quietly in the corner of the tukul. The baby is unable to breast feed. Her tiny fists are balled up against her chest and her arms and legs are stiff. Sounds, lights and movement can all cause painful muscle spasms. Even a lick of wind can do it. She must be nursed quietly in the cool dark tukul away from the other patients. Her mother is having a hard time understanding why she cannot touch and hold her baby. ...
Author: Lauralee Morris
Tukul 3 is uncharacteristically quiet and cool. There is only one tiny patient here, lying on a wooden bed under a mosquito net. She is all of 5 days old. The babys mother divides her attention between her sick newborn and her older child who plays quietly in the corner of the tukul. The baby is unable to breast feed. Her tiny fists are balled up against her chest and her arms and legs are stiff. Sounds, lights and movement can all cause painful muscle spasms. Even a lick of wind can do it. She must be nursed quietly in the cool dark tukul away from the other patients. Her mother is having a hard time understanding why she cannot touch and hold her baby. ...
The Top Ten Reasons for Returning to Lankien
Author: Lauralee Morris
The twins are back and so am I. They are big for twins, a boy and a girl, named after the nurses in Nasir. Oh, well. After 10 days in Loki and seven solid sleeps, the world looked brighter. ...
Author: Lauralee Morris
The twins are back and so am I. They are big for twins, a boy and a girl, named after the nurses in Nasir. Oh, well. After 10 days in Loki and seven solid sleeps, the world looked brighter. ...
"You are coming back, aren't you?"
Author: Lauralee Morris
I have packed all my stuff. My tukul is empty. I am going to Loki for a break and I am not sure I am coming back. Zac, the base nurse, eyes my bulging backpack and says, You are coming back arent you? He has seen this before and knows the signs. I say, Yes, of course, but I feel guilty as I say it. I am filled with self-doubt. Perhaps I am just not tough enough for MSF. Perhaps I belong somewhere else? The thought is disappointing; I had planned to do several field missions with MSF over the next few years and then stop when I was too old and decrepit to withstand the rigors of the field. But perhaps I am already too old and decrepit? ...
Author: Lauralee Morris
I have packed all my stuff. My tukul is empty. I am going to Loki for a break and I am not sure I am coming back. Zac, the base nurse, eyes my bulging backpack and says, You are coming back arent you? He has seen this before and knows the signs. I say, Yes, of course, but I feel guilty as I say it. I am filled with self-doubt. Perhaps I am just not tough enough for MSF. Perhaps I belong somewhere else? The thought is disappointing; I had planned to do several field missions with MSF over the next few years and then stop when I was too old and decrepit to withstand the rigors of the field. But perhaps I am already too old and decrepit? ...
Unlandable
Author: Lauralee Morris
The rain in the wet season is like nothing I have ever seen before. Huge drenching droplets of water. A deluge. And when it is not raining, the air is still full of moisture. Everything is damp most of the time, the towels, the sheets, my mattress, my clothes. The inside of my tukul smells like an old damp sock. The condition of the airstrip in rainy season is an ongoing concern. It can be either Landable, Wet landable, or Unlandable. Today we are unlandable. The plane, carrying my reinforcements, will have to try again tomorrow. ...
Author: Lauralee Morris
The rain in the wet season is like nothing I have ever seen before. Huge drenching droplets of water. A deluge. And when it is not raining, the air is still full of moisture. Everything is damp most of the time, the towels, the sheets, my mattress, my clothes. The inside of my tukul smells like an old damp sock. The condition of the airstrip in rainy season is an ongoing concern. It can be either Landable, Wet landable, or Unlandable. Today we are unlandable. The plane, carrying my reinforcements, will have to try again tomorrow. ...
Broken
Author: Lauralee Morris
I want to quit, resign, throw in the towel, end it, go home. I want it to be over. I feel broken. I am tired of working with a skeleton team and being woken up at night. I cannot sleep at all now and I don't know why. Larium? Sleep Deprivation? Stress? Heat? All of the above? My project coordinator sits me down and calmly and patiently tries to inject some sanity into my thinking. But the thought of going home is starting to take hold in my head and it feels like an immense relief. ...
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Author: Lauralee Morris
I want to quit, resign, throw in the towel, end it, go home. I want it to be over. I feel broken. I am tired of working with a skeleton team and being woken up at night. I cannot sleep at all now and I don't know why. Larium? Sleep Deprivation? Stress? Heat? All of the above? My project coordinator sits me down and calmly and patiently tries to inject some sanity into my thinking. But the thought of going home is starting to take hold in my head and it feels like an immense relief. ...
