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ZFDS PERFORMS 31 OPERATIONS IN 4 DAYS
The transformative impact of the Zambia Flying Doctor Service (ZFDS) was felt in Chama District, as a specialist surgeon transported from the Copperbelt performed 31 life-changing surgical procedures in just four days as part of an specialized medical outreach.
Specialist Surgeon Dr. Maka Silungwe, based at Roan Antelope General Hospital, was flown into the district by ZFDS to treat patients suffering from conditions that had long remained untreated due to the absence of local specialist surgical services.
The surgical mission delivered immediate relief to several critical cases,these included the following:
* Thyroidectomy Success: A 25-year-old man suffering from a massive anterior neck swelling, which caused difficulty swallowing and breathing when lying flat, underwent a successful subtotal thyroidectomy. He has since made a full recovery.
* Paediatric Surgery: A five-year-old girl with a congenital thyroglossal duct cyst successfully underwent a complex Sistrunk procedure (the complete removal of the cyst, tract, and a section of the hyoid bone). Her recovery was described as uneventful.
Other operations carried out included essential procedures such as hernia repairs, hydrocelectomies, and the excision of ganglions and lipomas, bringing the total number of surgeries performed to 31.
Dr. Silungwe praised the ZFDS for making the outreach possible, highlighting the Service’s logistical support and mandate to fly specialists into hard-to-reach areas.
The surgical mission was part of a wider ZFDS outreach that coincided with the Kwenje Traditional Ceremony in Chipata.
The overall mission saw hundreds of residents benefiting from general medical consultations, dental and eye care, laboratory services, and pharmacy support.
The success of the mission underscores ZFDS’s continued fulfillment of its mandate.
(c) ZambiaFlyingDoctorService
World
ZAMBIAN BUSINESSMAN RECOUNTS LOSING BOTH HIS LEGS IN TANZANIA ROAD CRASH
The time was 7:18hrs. (Zambian Time)
The morning of February 16, 2024, began like any other for Enock, a businessman on a route that had become routine. It was the usual.
But at 07:18 hours, Zambian time, in the Mafinga District of Tanzania’s Iringa Region, a fatal act of impatience changed everything.
A massive truck, hungry for speed, swung out onto a closed line, charging straight toward Enock’s vehicle in trying to overtake.
Enock swerved violently to avoid the head-on collision, but the truck still ripped into his driver’s side of the vehicle, crushing the metal and instantly pushing his car into a stationary trailer.
The world shattered.
The windscreen exploded inward, hitting his face, but the seat belt held him. It saved him from being thrown onto the road.
He tried to move, to lift his legs but guess what?
They were gone. Crushed.
They were crushed so bad that they were facing opposite directions.
Enock was trapped.
Squeezed and contorted within the wreckage, rescue was a grueling ordeal. It took the might of two trucks, one pulling from the front and one from the rear, to separate the cabin and claw him free.
Finally pulled from the debris, Enock was placed by the roadside. Women of the community gathered, wailing in tears and lamentations.
They brought bundles of chitenges, making it clear they expected to witness his final moments.
But amidst the despair, Enock found a fierce resolve. He wasn’t ready to die, especially “in a foreign state.”
While they wept, he was praying for favor and, with stunning presence of mind, he used those very wrappers to administer first aid on himself, desperately staunching the flow of blood in trying not to bleed to death.
The accident stole both of Enock’s lower limbs, but it could not touch his spirit.
The long journey began. From 13 days of being in ICU and having 9 surgeries to his first challenging physiotherapy session at Maina Soko Hospital in Lusaka.
Today, Enock’s experience, marked by the powerful reminder of a life fully lived just years before, has forged a new, indelible purpose.
He now stands as a powerful advocate, using his story to champion road safety and to inspire others to never surrender, proving that adversity is not an end, but a platform for strength and transformation.
-RTSA
