War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Ayman
Meet Dr Mohammed Ayman, a Syrian vascular surgeon and our latest War Doctor Hero.
We first met Ayman back in 2013, when David Nott was volunteering in Alzarour Hospital, Aleppo. Whilst treating patients, David was able to teach Ayman and his team a variety of specialised surgical procedures that Ayman was later able to use to save casualties.
At this time, medical workers and facilities were a target. As Ayman put it, "the hospitals in Aleppo were a kind of magnet for attacks.”
It was too dangerous to go outside as barrel bombs and missiles could fall at any time so Dr Ayman and his colleagues had to work, sleep and eat in their underground hospital.
The heavy siege also meant resources were always in short supply. They lacked the right sutures to stitch up patients and there wasn’t enough food and milk to feed malnourished children. Nonetheless, Dr Ayman did what he could to take care of his patients. “All the Syrian people in Aleppo needed us, so we had to be stronger for them and we had to adapt to the new situation as best we could. We wanted them to always feel that they were not alone.”
One patient that Ayman especially remembers was an 11 month old baby girl. Her father carried her to the hospital after she was wounded in a bomb explosion. She had a severe leg wound and the orthopaedic surgeon wanted to perform an amputation. Fortunately, Dr Ayman knew there was a chance her leg could be saved. He successfully performed a vein bypass to restore the blood supply and later her leg was externally fixated so that the bone could heal properly.
To Ayman’s immense happiness, the little girl recently started walking.
Ayman is one of fourteen surgeons who will be joining us for our next UK-based training course. He hopes that the skills learnt on this course will enable him to better serve the Syrian people when he is able to return to his home country.
You can read about some of our other War Doctor Heroes by clicking here.
A Tasty Fundraiser!
Back in February, two small businesses put their heads together and came up with a brilliant fundraising idea – a charity dinner! Based in Chilcompton, Somerset, ‘The Holy Cow’ café and ‘The Pudding Kitchen’ pulled together a delicious four course meal, complete with craft drinks and a tasty dessert selection.
Rachel Middleton, from The Pudding Kitchen, was inspired after her friend sent her a link to David’s Desert Island Discs. After that, she was hooked! We’re thrilled that the team managed to raise over £2,000 which was split between us and the Wallace and Gromit Appeal – another fantastic cause.
We love hearing about your creative fundraising efforts, so let us know if you’ve got anything exciting planned.
War Doctor has landed in the United States!
War Doctor, David's harrowing memoirs of surgery on the front-lines, has arrived in book shops across the US. Spanning over 25 years, David Nott recollects his time volunteering in some of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes.
To purchase a copy or gift one to your friends across the pond, you can visit Abrams Books' website by clicking here.
"Culminating in his recent trips to war-torn Syria—and the untold story of his efforts to help secure a humanitarian corridor out of besieged Aleppo to evacuate some 50,000 people—War Doctor is a heart-stopping and moving blend of medical memoir, personal journey, and nonfiction thriller that provides unforgettable, at times raw, insight into the human toll of war." - Abrams Books
February 2020 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to our first newsletter of 2020!
In this month's issue, we reflect on our recent mission to Yemen, and share Dr Koma Akim's story. We'll also be offering you a chance to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon on behalf of the Foundation!
Thank you as always for your continued support and generosity.
HEST Yemen
The DNF team, in partnership with MSF Spain, recently returned from our latest mission to Yemen, which brought in 31 surgeons from across the country for a specialised five-day training course.
Since 2015, Yemen has been the stage of one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes. At the front-lines of this conflict are the surgeons and medics who face the challenge of saving lives with limited training and a lack of resources. Our Hostile Environment Surgical Training course (HEST) was designed to confront this problem, training doctors in a wide range of trauma topics including obstetrics, abdominal, orthopaedics and paediatrics.
Using our bespoke body simulator, our cutting edge VR learning experience and a range of case studies, our Faculty was successful in equipping these surgeons with the specialised skills they need to be the best doctors possible.
You can read more about this course and our other missions here.
On your marks....get set.....go!
Last October, we were thrilled to have six runners take on the Royal Parks Half Marathon on behalf of DNF. A first for the Foundation! Raising over £10,000 between them, their efforts were enough to fund ten places on our overseas training course.
Building on last year's success, we have reserved nine spots for the 21km race this October. So, if you're looking for a challenge and would like to actively raise money for the Foundation, please fill out this Google form to tell us about your motivation for running the Royal Parks Half.
Places will go fast and the Google form closes on Friday 21st February so be quick!
Spotlight on Dr Koma Akim
In this latest instalment of our #wardoctorheroes series, we're proud to introduce Dr Koma Akim from South Sudan.
Koma regularly deals with gunshot and arrow wounds as a result of cattle rustling and violent ethnic clashes. The patients that survive long enough to reach his care are often in a very bad state, and Dr Akim lacks the medical resources to treat them.
In 2019, Koma attended our London-based STAE course where he learnt vital plastic surgery and vascular skills. He told us: “being able to practise it means I have the confidence to do it in a real situation. If I can do it, I can teach it.”
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If you have a moment, it would mean a lot to us if you could fill in our communications survey. Tell us what we're doing right and what we could do better and we'll take your advice on board.
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