Surviving the Extremes
// February 18th, 2011 // Altruism, Exploration, Medicine
Alright, so it’s been a while. I get it; you’re dying for an update. Here it goes… For sometime I have been reading this particular blog about a computer programer that does a lot of traveling. There is a specific post about a pretty cool mountain trail this guy completed called Mt. Huashan (picture to the left – would you hike it?). Reading the posts sparks an interest I have always had: being able to travel in my spare time (which will be pretty rare in the next several years). However, the dreams are not smothered by my dreams of being a physician. In fact, there are plenty of physicians that do humanitarian work in developing countries. I met a doctor, Ashis Brahma, at an international health conference at Yale back in 2005 that essentially lived in conflict-torn regions of Africa. When I was deployed, I read a book about an Orthopedic surgeon that did a lot of wilderness expeditions. He even took time off during residency to climb a mountain in Puru. Lets just say, that probably wouldn’t fly at most programs. “Surviving the Extremes” by Kenneth Kamler, 
goes into the science and physiology of what occurs to people that live in those treacherous and basically inhospitable environments. He breaks down being shocked by an electric eel in the amazon, high altitude pulmonary/cerebral edema on Mt. Everest, hallucinogenic herbs that are used for medicinal purposes, etc. Anyway, the books just keeps the hopes alive of once every several years, taking an extreme trip to an extreme location. Oh, I finally bought a DSLR camera too, similar to the one I mentioned a few months ago. I snagged it off a US Treasury repossessed auction site. I guess if I find out I don’t have enough time for the photography hobby, I can resell all my gear on ebay and make a little profit! However this semester, Cait and I will probably get some use out of the camera. We have trips planned for Tampa (and surrounding areas), the Smoky Mountains, and Chicago! I’ll update you with some pictures from the camera as soon as it comes in!
5 Responses to “Surviving the Extremes”
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Valuable info. Lucky me I found your web site by accident, and I am shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
Hi Dustin,
How are you doing?
I am in Uganda now;
volunteering with Mobile Monday Kampala (www.momokla.org), techfest uganda (www.techfest.ug) my technological inspiration, m-health does play a huge role in health care provision here.
Also I am involved in the classifying of African art collection of a friend.
My wife is Racheal Mutesi, Ugandan and my daughter 1 year and 2 months is Nisha.
Currently I work at http://www.virtualuni.ac.ug as a lecturer Public Health online
Soon I will be rejoining a hspita lin Kampala
All the best
Ashis
Ashis, nice to hear you’re doing great! Congratulations about your wedding and child. I recently got married as well. I apply at the end of this year to medical school (it’s been long awaited), but I am looking forward to it!
I regularly watch the news and there are obvious problems throughout the world. I just heard something last week about the Sudan’s slowly improving human conditions. I don’t know how true it was, but I hope it’s getting better over there. Please in touch and let me know of your progress in Uganda. I look forward to doing some work over there when I am a doctor as well!
Best, Dustin
He Dustin stay in touch so I can see what I can do for you in Uganda. I will be the senior medical consultant at a 25 bed hospital starting April 2012 Congratz with marriage
namaskar
ashis
as you see I am blogging again
Ashis, I definitely will keep in touch, and provided I’m capable of doing so, I’d like to take some humanitarian trips in the next couple years over there. If they happen to bring me close to where you are, I’ll sned you an email!