"We've been invited to witness a bonfire of marijuana by the Taliban. Anyone interested?" Amid the missionaries, mercenaries and misfits drawn to the world's most dangerous and volatile hotspots stands Dr John Parker. From Cholera to Ebola is a captivating collection of true stories 25 years in the making. Whether challenging the bureaucracy of refugee camps to cradling children as they died, Dr Parker operated far from his comfort zone, from the norms of medical practice and from the decencies of humanity. His is a life that swung from heartbreaking hopelessness to sheer ecstasy as he battled PTSD to chase his next 'fix' over increasingly dangerous missions. "There are some things you cannot be taught; you have to live them."
Dr John Parker was born and bred in Liverpool, UK and medically trained at Edinburgh University. He came to Australia to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef and never returned. He commenced a medical practice in Airlie Beach in Queensland to follow a passion in diving medicine and later worked at Golden Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Intermittently he has ventured with the Red Cross and MSF on humanitarian medical missions including 3 war zones, 2 epidemics and several refugee camps. More recently he has worked as SMO in the refugee detention centres on Nauru, Manus Island and Christmas Island, medical officer in an Ebola Treatment Centre in Sierra Leone and spent a year as an expedition medical officer on Davis Station in Antarctica. He is presently working on Thursday Island in the Torres Straits. He has written 'The Sports Diving Medical" and "Poetic Prescriptions for Feeling Good".
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I laughed, I cried, I was challenged and I was encouraged. As Dr John shares his challenges and extremely personal (at times) story, I would have to agree with Reverend Tim Costello AO (the Foreward), in saying that "there is truth and insight to be found here that is invaluable." I could identify with Dr John regarding coming back to our 'privileged society' after visiting very poor African communities and struggling to witness the waste of resources that so many people take for granted.
This book truly covers a vast array of human emotions and, if you are honest, it will call you out and show you a thing or two about what is, and what is not, important in life.
If you are thinking of going on a missions trip - read this book.
If you are thinking of volunteering on any overseas program - read this book.
If you have children - read this book.
If you suffer PTSD, regardless of its source - read this book.
I hope this book reaches wide and far.
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John recounts some of the highlights & lowlights of his humanitarian missions abroad. He shares his vulnerabilities as a human & his feelings of inadequacy & frustration as a clinician. His memoirs are confronting & heart-breaking, but also uplifting at times. He discusses the resulting post-traumatic stress that he has dealt with for years. He is honest, philosophical & thought-provoking.
A recommended read for anyone interested in volunteer work at home or abroad and a significant addition to the literature on post-traumatic stress in the medical profession.
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