Getting in touch

Hey --
wanted to make sure you all knew how to get in touch with me overseas. Most of the stuff is already on the blog -- if you click on my profile, there's a link to email me, my address should be on the page, and there's a handy postage calculator on the side if you want to send me something.

I'm told that email is REAL slow over there, to the point that if you start a email to me, it's better not to reply but start a new message, simply because of the space required. But don't let that stop you from cluttering up my inbox.

Likewise, comments on the blog are automatically emailed to me, so you can just comment on something and I'll get it. Of course, everyone else can read it, too, so no awkward secrets over cyberspace, please....

The Final Countdown

Ah, southern Thanksgiving -- feel sorry for all you who don't get your choice of carrot cake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pumpkin tart, or key lime pie for your Thanksgivings. And that's after the sweet potatoes, which are pretty much dessert themselves with the pecan/rice krispie topping. If you've had them before, you know what I mean.

Some of you will be glad to know that the robe is making a strong push to rescue itself from being sidelined and reincorporated into the luggage. It's gonna be a tight race to the finish, however. Honestly, everything seems to be fitting fairly well, although I'm sure I'm still leaving behind some stuff I wish I could take and taking some stuff I'll never use.

What I'm reading now, cont....

Perhaps I should pick a new heading, since I read a fair amount....WIRN, perhaps?

Currently, thanks to sheaves of reading material from fellow Yalies, I am enjoying a small debate on what is good developmental theory. Apparently, the Nobel Prize delegates discovered this guy before I did (hey, med school wasn't the best for my liberal arts education) because he won in 1998. I fully agree with their choices, however, because his observations are profoundly obvious, usually the sign of a great thinker in my book (cf, gravity, etc). His basic premise is that development should be increasing the freedoms of the people that are going through it; freedom becomes both the desired end of development as well as the means through which development occurs. This would be freedoms in the broadest sense -- from want, fear, premature death (shades of FDR here), oppression, and the list goes on.

Although I would argue as a Christian that what we do with those freedoms has more bearing on being human that the freedoms themselves, and I would also state that many people have made poor choices with their freedom -- I fundamentally agree with Sen that as a developmental theory, this makes the most sense to me. Moreover, it provides a useful framework within which to hang my work in Africa: helping to ensure one of those freedoms. Unfortunately, as I think Sachs would point out, you need a synergy of multiple freedoms being addressed simultaneously, with poverty at the base of many of them, for development to become forward moving and sustainable.

All that to say, I need to read faster so that I have less to pack.

Almost there....

Howdy to all of you!

I thought I'd update everyone on where I'm at....no, still not in
Africa, but getting closer. I finished the written part of the ER
boards on Tuesday, which was the last big hurdle to get out of the way
before I leave, and despite eye strain and a bit of a headache, I'm no
worse for wear. Thanks out loud to all of you who were praying for me.
I have to admit one of my worries going overseas is losing some of my
professional 'edge', so it was good to try to consolidate some of that
info. We'll see if anything sticks. So now it's trying to get all my
stuff loaded into bags to take over with me without going over the
airline limits. It's gonna be tight, yet one more round of purging to
go (my mom's quilt and the bathrobe didn't make the cut, but dominoes is
still in...for now).

It's been a busy month since I left Denver, traveling around to North
Carolina, Houston and Chicago to see some of you and your beautiful
kids. I am chomping at the bit these days to get out there, but I don't
officially leave until Nov 21st, so if you're around and we haven't
already made plans to get together, your last chance is rapidly
approaching. It's been great to see all the support out there and
people who are genuinely interested in helping the people of Zambia. If
you don't know what's going on with the world's efforts to help with
diseases like HIV and malaria, drop me a line and we'll chat. If you
still want to know how to get involved and help, we should also talk
before I leave. Unfortunately, I did get turned down by the Gates
foundation in my attempt to get some malaria research funded through the
hospital, so I'm going to wait to get on the field before I draw up any
further plans right now.

I appreciate your continued prayers and support. My biggest concerns
right now are about transitioning to a new culture and new friends,
never very easy for us introverts. Keep me in your prayers for that.

Good to see and hear from all of you! I'll write again from the other
side of the world!

Matt

p.s. If you haven't checked it out already, you should see the blog:
mattcotham.blogspot.com. I update it much more frequently that I send
out emails and it's got useful info about the millenium goals and zambia
in general. I even put a RSS feed on it so if you have a homepage like
yahoo or MSN or google or something like that you can get it delivered
to your computer when it's updated....

Two posts in one day

I must have a lot to say today....

In case you were wondering about the project red link on the side of the blog (or if you weren't but are now) this article from my hometown paper helps fill in a few details. It actually goes through how much each of the companies involved is donating as well.

My personal favorite is the totally customizable Chuck Taylor All-stars....

malaria updates

Finished the boards! Woo hoo!

I dropped my subscription to the Journal but for some reason they still send me their emails. This article is ostensibly about advances in medical treatment, but also points out that the biggest impediment to stopping malaria (a disease which kills 2 million a year and infects close to 500 million by WHO statistics) is not the medical side of things, but the political will. The only question is will we muster it.

2 days, 2 weeks, 2 much fun

Ah, the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems that I may get to finally hit the road after nearly 5 months of waiting since graduation. It's been a bit hard to sustain momentum for that long. But the grind is nearly over, the departure date looms closer, and I'll nearly be done with the boards on Tuesday, which will be the last major hurdle to overcome before I can leave. And if Kinky Friedman wins, it will definitely be a sign to get out of the country.

I'm looking for good ideas for Xmas gifts to take over with me -- any suggestions are appreciated, otherwise it may be stuffed jackalopes or Texas football jerseys. Not sure that's exactly what those canadian ex-pats are looking for, however...

Massive Change

Thought some of you might be interested in this --http://www.massivechange.com We went to go see the exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (well, actually, we went to see the museum and found that they had removed everything in the museum so that we could see nothing else but this exhibit.)

I have some fundamental issues with the underlying assumptions that buttress these people -- namely, the idea that technology will solve the world's problems. As I mentioned to Leslie at the time, everytime I see something like this I remember the Biosphere which my dad's company built. You remember how we were going to study how to build space stations and couldn't even make the thing airtight in Arizona, with everything available to us here on earth. Anyway, when the docent goes blithering on about how the internet will spread to rural Africa when these $500 computers get distributed, when that represents 8-9 months of income and no technical support/repair exists, I go a little crazy.

That being said, there's some cool ideas.

check out the new subscription link

I figured out how to put a subscription link on the blog (thanks for the suggestion, Heather) so you can put this on your email or home page pretty easy. Cool, huh? Just click on the antenna like thing to the right.

Okay, perhaps studying isn't that boring

Well, it is, but I got distracted today. Check this out.

http://www.kakophone.com/

You geeky myspacers have probably already found this, but it's fun.

What to say....

There's really not that much exciting to talk about when you're studying for the boards. However, I can share that if you're planning on poisoning your guests at your Halloween party, you should use phosphorous, because it causes your BM's to smoke and you to barf luminescent vomit, which might almost be worth the lawsuit you'd get.

from sea to shining Lake Michigan

Just got back from my taste of America tour, which included such quintessential American treats as sausage on a stick, steak on a stick, fried Coke, etoufee, and singing country songs about Mexican liquor in a Korean karaoke bar with my Puerto Rican friend. It really doesn't get any better than that, maybe it will take care of my homesickness for awhile....

On the downer front, the Gates foundation turned us down the weekend, so we're back to square one on projects for Zambia. Still brainstorming on that one. It's back to studying for the boards and trying to figure out the best way to ship a bunch of dishes overseas.

too much talking

The Glittering Eye » Blog Archive » Sub-Saharan Medical Braindrain

The Glittering Eye » Blog Archive » Sub-Saharan Medical Braindrain

A similar topic was published in the NEJM over the past year. Part of the reason to go over there, but also raises questions of how we can be more sensitive to our brothers in Africa by the policies we have in the US.

Africa later....and earlier

I have found out that my departure date will be pushed back a week to Nov 21st, so it looks like Africa is looming a bit later than originally anticipated. On the flip side, though, on my drive into Fort Worth, the temperature outside was 98 degrees, so I'm getting used to it a bit earlier....

gas prices in Zambia

As I was driving home today from Colorado, I passed a gas station in Childress, TX that was selling gas for $1.94/gallon. I tried to remember the last time I had seen gas under 2 bucks. One of the missionaries in Zambia was talking about gas being over 7/gallon over there, and I was reminded about how we're all in the same boat, and what's an inconvience here has completely shut down things like transportation or generators over there. And then I was struck about a comment I'd made (and have heard others make, too) about how it might be good to have gas prices stay high for a while to pressure the economy into building more fuel-efficient cars, etc. I was chagrined at my lack of perspective on the problem. For better or worse, what we do here has far-reaching impacts overseas as well, even in things that we might not think about.

So I'm not hoping for high gas prices for a while. And if you want some cheap gas, go to Childress.

What I'm reading now, part deux

You may not have realized it, but the road to Zambia leads through Boone, NC, or at least it does for me. I spent the past three days in North Carolina visiting with some of the members of Samaritan's Purse who are helping me get overseas, but unfortunately the Holiday Inn's evil empire prevented me from telling you about it while there. So now that I'm back in the freedom of the west (this is Clayton, NM) I can get you up to speed, on the many things I've learned, like what OCC stands for at SP (a good 15 minutes spent on deciphering acronyms) and how best to butcher an elephant for the meat if you have to (use an axe, although you're still not allowed to hunt them anymore in Zambia, so I doubt this will come up). I did have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Jim Foulkes, who was out at Mukinge for more years than I can possibly count, and had a great dinner with him and his wife.

For the way home, I got a copy of Sword and the Scalpel, a biography of Bob Foster, the missionary that started the hospital. The book takes an overwhelmingly rosy view of the missionary life, but I was struck by a line that his sister says early in the book: 'It seems like my life has been full of goodbyes.' Almost exactly the same thing was said by one of the missionaries in Rwanda when we were leaving as well, and I was struck by how transient so many of the relationships that you make are overseas, as people get transferred in and out, you move on to other things, or circumstances change. Another book recommended to me by one of my old residency classmates, The Dressing Station, ends with the author basically isolated and alone and moving back to England to have a more normal life after he'd travelled the world with all of these great adventures.

This is all to say, not that I'm dreading going overseas, quite the contrary, but that I'm grateful for all the friends and support that I have already. If you're reading this blog, you're probably already near and dear to my heart, and I thank God for all of you. And I can't wait for all the people that I'm going to meet along the way in Africa, too!

updates

Hey all --
my email address is changing today -- don't send anything more to my
comcast account or it will get bounced. As always, my permanent
forwarding address with yale will still work (matt.cotham@aya.yale.edu)
or my gmail account (mattcotham@gmail.com)

Also, my address in Texas until I leave is:
325 Rivercrest
Fort Worth, TX 76107
303-393-1786 still the same.

And finally, my address in Zambia will be:
Matt Cotham
c/o Mukinge Hospital
P.O. 120092
Kasempa, Zambia

Don't have a Zambian phone number yet.

Hope you all can make it either tomorrow or Sat to hang out. The dance
floor is looking good.

Matt

last days!

Hey to all of you! Last week in Denver -- wow, couldn't go out with
better weather, huh? Not quite the fall spectacular of Telluride, but
perfect for sleeping in the hammock for a few more hours.

To help me see all of you and also to get rid of my last remaining
stuff, I'm having a garage sale this Fri and Sat. I'd love to have you
all swing by during or after to help me polish off my liquor supplies.
Also, if there's anything of mine that you want, come claim it for free
before it gets sold! I'm still looking for a home for my golf clubs,
the wireless internet set-up, the subwoofer, DVD player, not to mention
a bunch of crap like heaters and ironing boards and plants and camping
equipment and my old Texas flag. Tell me someone wants to give my Texas
flag a home.

So anyway, the sale officially lasts until 3, the sangria will probably
start flowing around noon unless I need a few shots to help me haggle
with old ladies about the price of my sundae dishes -- then it's every
man for himself. :) There's plenty of good dancing room on my mostly
empty wood floors.

I officially board my plane after church on Sunday!

Hopefully I'll see all of you (those that are in town, that is) before I go.

Matt

The Last Days

In Denver, that is. Official Denver good-byes are this weekend as I step on a plane first to North Carolina, and then Texas. I did get to experience the best of Colorado this weekend, at least, with friends in Telluride in time for the first snow and the aspens changing. I'll put on some pics in a bit.

Still no word yea or nay from Gates. I am now the proud owner of at least 5 lbs of review books for the boards, however....

NEJM plug

For those who get it, the editorial in this week's New England JOM is about the Gates Foundation's effect on international giving and focus and how far short we still fall. It's at least as interesting as the articles about fingolimod or echinocandins or the radiographic appearance of lanthanum, that is. How can I be this far out of date only 6 years out of med school?

Go ahead complete!

I got the go ahead from Mukinge to submit to the Gates Foundation. So the preliminary step will be submitted tomorrow. Apparently they are not wild about organizations that have religious affiliations, so keep your fingers crossed....

What I'm reading these days

From No Picnic on Mt Kenya:
"So unexpected was this sight amid the savage scenery of Batian, that I could not help thinking 'It is too beautiful. Do I deserve to experience it?' and unconsciously my thoughts wandered to the simple character of the Humpback of Brazil who, as Guido Rey relates, having climbed Matterhorn with the first party from the south, knelt down and thanked God for having created such a marvellous universe."

Pictures from Yellowstone.

A call for seeds

One of the things I'm hoping to do is bring some seeds with me when I
go; if you've got some good varieties that you think would do well in
Africa save them for me or send them on. No zucchini!

Donation information

I put this in my last email, but here's the info as well on the blog. You can follow the links on the side to WMM or SIM.

To donate to my account it is through World Medical Mission, account #003220. I can use these funds to help with ministry related projects while I'm over there.

As most of you know, I am being fully funded through the World Medical Mission Post-Residency Program. If you'd like to contribute to help docs go overseas in a similar fashion, it's account #13765, also through WMM.

If you'd like to donate to the hospital, it's best to donate to Serving In Missions, with attention to Mukinge Hospital.

Finally, if you'd like to help fund a project or have an idea in mind about how you'd like to get involved while I'm there, let me know and we'll talk.

Last days in Colorado

Hey!
The time is drawing nearer! 1 month left before I leave Colorado for
good (at least for awhile). The tentative Colorado schedule is as follows:

Wyoming Sept 5-13
Denver Sept 14-19
Telluride Sept 20-24
Denver Sept 25-Oct 1

Then it's off to good old Texas to get some studying in. For all of you
in Colorado, let's get together before I split for good!

tuesday is D-day

Dog day, that is. The final bittersweet parting between me and the smelly, matted Saint next to me, currently snoring as I write this. A final pic to remember her by....

Getting ready for Zambia...Colorado style