You Can't Keep a Good Corpsman Down

My father is one of the original Skeeter Beater team members in the South Pacific -- one of two still living. He had a stroke last month and is recovering well. We recently celebrated his 86th birthday. He has survived being covered with DDT powder regularly, contracting malaria, serving as a hospital corpsman in WWII and Korea, a major heart attack nearly 30 years ago, an abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and now a stroke. They just don't make them like they used to!

When he was having the stroke, he was very confused. He had a headache, and he wanted an aspirin. He kept asking my mother for one. After telling him for the fifth or sixth time that all they had was baby aspirin, my father said, "Well, it's a hell of a thing when a hospital corpsman can't find an aspirin!"

Physically, he is strong as an ox. He has lost some short-term memory and his cognitive abilities have been somewhat affected. We don't know how he will progress, but so far, so good. You really can't keep a good corpsman down. They are always ready when someone yells, "Corpsman up!"

The fight goes on...

I wish I could say that I haven't been blogging here because malaria is no more. According to the World Health Organization, in Africa, malaria still kills nearly one child every 45 seconds. Malaria also affects people in the Middle East and Eurasia, Pacific Asia, and the Americas. That's right. Although the death rate is low, there are still 22 malarious countries in the Americas.

I took a break. Malaria did not. The fight goes on.

We take it for granted...

My children and I have been sick recently, making posting difficult. My daughter experienced sharp pains in the right side of her abdomen. I was able to take her to her pediatrician, where she was seen within 30 minutes. When referred to the E.R., was able to see an E.R. doctor within an hour of our arrival. My daughter received an ultrasound and an x-ray that afternoon.

Later in the week, we passed a virus around the family, and I found myself battling bronchitis and asthma. As I was gasping for breath, I realized that I really should have renewed the prescription on the albuterol inhaler BEFORE I needed it. A call to the physician's office and a trip to the grocery store later, I had the medicine I needed -- along with decongestant, several boxes of herbal tea, cough drops with echinacea, chicken soup, and popsicles.

Several times as I sat with my daughter in the waiting rooms at the doctor's office and the children's hospital, I thought of the mothers whose children die of malaria and other treatable diseases for lack of access to medical care. As I filled my shopping cart at the grocery store, I thought of Woody Collins and his Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo blog. Even if a person there had the money to shop for the luxuries I had in my cart -- which I considered necessities, right down to the popsicles -- there would be no place to buy them.

Something to think about this Thanksgiving.

Why Malaria? Why Now?

Why malaria? For me, it is personal. My father, Robert Kanavel, is one of the original Skeeter Beaters who served in the South Pacific in WWII. He was part of a pioneering effort by the U.S. Navy which reduced casualties from malaria by 98%. He contracted malaria in the process. To me, it was an interesting story. His story. History.

I was looking online for information on the Skeeter Beaters, and I stumbled upon a book by Dennis Cline. My father's face was among those on the cover photo. I contacted Dennis, founder of The Skeeter Beaters Foundation, and he opened my eyes to the very real problem of malaria in the 21st century.

Malaria isn't history. According to the 2008 World Malaria Report published by the World Health Organization, an estimated 247 million cases of malaria caused an estimated 881,000 deaths in 2006, primarily in children under the age of five. WHO concedes that these figures are not exact and could be much higher. To put it in perspective, in July 2008, there were not quite 304 million people in the United States. For additional perspective, watch this video from Against Malaria. It is well worth a minute of your time.

Why malaria? Malaria kills. Malaria is preventable. Malaria is treatable. Because malaria is only one of several deadly diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, malaria prevention efforts can reap multiple benefits.

Why now? The clock is ticking. Rising global temperatures are expanding the areas in which malaria-causing mosquitoes can thrive. In some parts of the world, the disease appears to be developing a resistance to the best anti-malarial drugs. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), mosquitoes can develop insecticide resistance very quickly. And while we wait, more children die of malaria. One child every 42 seconds is a conservative estimate.

Why fight malaria? Why now? Because we can. Because we must.

Malaria -- The Beatable Foe

To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe . . ..

I like musical theater. Sue me. When I hear Richard Kiley in The Man of La Mancha singing "The Impossible Dream," when I think of Don Quixote tilting at windmills, The Romantic in me heaves a big, girlish sigh.

The Accountant resides alongside The Romantic in me. The Accountant doesn't like impossible dreams. The Accountant insists that in a world of limited resources, we should concentrate on the battles we can win.

And I think of malaria.

The World Health Organization, in its 2008 World Malaria Report, estimates that every 42 seconds, a child under the age of five dies of malaria. Every year, nearly 900,000 people, primarily infants, young children, and pregnant women, die of a disease that is both preventable and curable. The numbers are obscene.

Those on the front lines of the battle against malaria are not tilting at windmills. Some nations have succeeded in eliminating the threat of malaria. With vigilance, malaria is a beatable foe. Join in the quest.