Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

 

  

Myself and the elective kids.

January would have been an exceptionally challenging month – a distinct shortage of doctors and nurses (what’s new) and an overwhelming number of sick children. To top it all off I was meant to be preparing for UK job interviews. However, the arrival of three medical students from the UK helped me keep my sanity in check. I love having students around, whether I’m home or abroad; it makes for a stimulating and exciting environment: sharing ideas, knowledge and stories. In addition, what made this group (Dom, Mal and Georgie) particularly good was the fact that 

Malik getting sized up for some
new trousers during a ward round.

they like to eat, play and explore: which, is exactly how I roll.  The big house that I live in was finally buzzing with life and now that they’re gone, I must say it is rather quiet. However, they’ve left their footprint – pictures all over the walls from weekend japes, blood smeared from floor to ceiling after several mosquito massacres and some truly excellent memories.

I had initially taken two weeks off to return to the UK for interviews, but cut my trip to 4 days and returned early for an impromptu trip to Madagascar with them. They say you only live once, and the South African government does pay me rather handsomely. Needless to say I am rather broke now, but it was definitely worth it. If you ever get a chance, I would recommend Madagascar to anyone: beautiful people with a real joie de vivre, scrummy food, charming architecture, magnificent scenery and, of course, loads of Lemurs. I only stayed for a week – Holy Cross was beckoning me – but, it was enough to get a taste of its wonder.

Smiley Madagascan children.



"LOVE FOAM" - the only mattress to sleep on in Madagascar.

***

Whilst the students were here, we embarked on some truly excellent weekends; keeping it local and exploring the Wild Coast, a.k.a. my hood. On their last weekend with me, before I flew home for a quick interview, I organised a trip to Mkhambathi: the beautiful nature reserve at the end of my road. There were twenty of us and a lot of fun was had, which included some excellent beach volleyball (courtesy of the students spoiling Holy Cross with a brand new net – I now have to dig up a pitch: watch this space) where Great Britain slammed the Netherlands; plenty of braais (BBQ’s) with some devilishly good dry rubs over the meat; sunsets; sunrises; swimming; frolicking; green shooting stars; and my good friend Ben having a near death experience.

I have mentioned in previous posts that the thing that makes Mkhambathi so special is this magnificent waterfall that dumps straight into the sea. Last time I visited the falls the water level was pretty low; this time, being the wet season, the river was engorged, creating a spectacular thundering aquatic feature.




Friends absorbing the magnificent power of the waterfall.

Ben is one of my dearest friends and also happens to be a British doctor working in South Africa. The story is a little vague, but he was walking along the top of the waterfall, lost his footing and slipped. Fortunately, he landed on a ledge. Unfortunately, he was stuck: pummelled with white water and a potential 15 metre drop into a shallow pool, he was holding on with his bare hands to a couple of small rocks and getting very cold. The other great thing about Mkhambathi is that it is really isolated and there is no phone signal; this isn’t so good when one needs help.



Ben - a little stuck. We didn't really take any photos
 as it was shortly after this snap that
 my friends realised he was in trouble.

My initial reaction to what was going on involved a lot of expletives from me, directed at Ben, and complete dismay. I had actually been lagging behind, taking in the scenery and checking out the swell rock pools with a friend before we knew what was happening. By this point, Ben had already been stranded for about 20 minutes. A party had run off to get help: one car was sent to get phone signal and beckon a chopper, if need be, and another returned to the scene with food, blankets and some equipment. Obviously, the car that returned to the scene was Mitch. Unfortunately, a barrier on the track meant we couldn’t get him close enough to use the winch. Instead, four car tow ropes were tied together and thrown down to my stranded friend. At this point he had been in the water about an hour. There was quite a bit of discussion as to how we would pull him out: the rope didn’t have much slack and it would take several people to pull Ben across with the added weight of water pummelling him. We agreed to shimmy him across the waterfall, on its ledge.

The thundering noise of the falls made it almost impossible to communicate with Ben; hence, there were a lot of gesticulating hands. Without further ado, we attempted to pull him across. At one point, he disappeared under the falls. I happened to be the one at Ben’s level, trying to give a few instructions to him or the burly crew handling the rope. Imagine me, shouting at my friends who were pulling him, trying to get them to tug more as I lost sight of Ben under the dramatic blanket of water. It felt like an eternity, but couldn’t have been for more than ten seconds. Minus one pair of shorts, we pulled my dear friend to safety and I gave him the biggest bear hug I have ever given any man. Whether he remembers or appreciated this, I do not know. The relief from everyone was massive; it was one of those “999” (the TV show) experiences, but with a very happy ending.

Once we got Ben back to bed, the fun recommenced, but not before an impromptu dance to the TLC song “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls.”

You may be pleased to hear that I managed to get this event into my job interview in response to the question: “So Dr Craver, can you tell us of a time outside of work where teamwork was important?” My answer: “Well, as a matter of fact, yes I can. Just last week…”

 

***

This is probably as good a time as any to mention the fact that I shall be leaving Holy Cross at the end of March. After about 20 months of work, I have finally handed in my notice. It is with mixed feelings that I am leaving, but something I am ready to do; the prospect of returning to my dearest family and friends fills me with glee, but I shall be sad to leave my Holy Cross family.



Busy at work in casualty. One could say it looks like we have too many doctors. Oh how I wish that was true.

 

Dom and Dom.

 

Good TB preventative measures: fashion always wins.