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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Thank you for your time!
War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Koma
We are delighted to feature Dr Koma Akim, a general surgeon from South Sudan, as our latest War Doctor Hero.
South Sudan is the world's youngest sovereign state, having gained its independence from Sudan in 2011.
Since December 2013, the country has been embroiled in a civil war that has resulted in the displacement of more than 4 million people, and contributed to the endemic poverty that affects 80% of the population. Conflict between nomadic people, particularly over the issues of cattle and grazing rights, has compounded the violence, yet health resources and medical professionals remain scarce.
Dr Akim is one of only a handful of general surgeons in the country, and regularly deals with gunshot and arrow wounds as a result of cattle rustling. Those who make it to his hospital are often in a very bad way, suffering from internal bleeding and broken bones. Without any advanced orthopaedic instruments, Koma must often treat these fractures non-operatively, even though his patients would benefit from external fixators or skeletal traction.
Alongside his work in the district hospital, Dr Akim has also undertaken humanitarian missions in Ganyiel, in the Unity State of South Sudan. Koma recalled performing an emergency C-section for a retained second twin in the midst of the fighting here. In spite of the high maternal mortality associated with this complication, Dr Akim was miraculously able to save the lives of both the mother and her two babies.
These experiences motivated Koma to learn more and enhance his skill set, so that he could continue to alleviate the suffering of ordinary people in his country.
In 2019, Dr Akim attended our London based Surgical Training for the Austere Environment course (STAE). On this training programme, he learnt how to properly expose blood vessels and said “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.” This skills-sharing is a vital part of what we as a Foundation hope to achieve. By training one doctor on our course, we give them the knowledge and skills needed to teach countless more.
It is Koma's ambition to become a role model for the next generation of South Sudanese doctors. He hopes to inspire more to become surgeons in order to better serve the people of war torn South Sudan and told us that "my skills and theirs will be more needed here, in South Sudan, than anywhere else in the world."
To help us train more surgeons like Koma, you can make a donation here.
Yemen HEST January 2020
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. Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni citizens have already lost their lives, and as the fighting continues, many more are in need of urgent medical treatment and supplies. At the front-lines of this conflict are the surgeons and medics who face the challenge of saving lives without losing their own, all the while limited by a lack of resources and insufficient training.
Our Hostile Environment Surgical Training course (HEST) was designed to confront this problem. Over the course of five days, our Faculty, comprising David Nott, Ammar Darwish, Pippa Letchworth, Pete Mathew and Rebekka Troller instructed surgeons on a wide range of trauma topics. By equipping these medics with the necessary knowledge, confidence and skills that they need to treat patients, we can improve the medical outcome for countless people.
The regions where HEST is taught often rule out cadaveric teaching, so the Foundation’s whole body simulator, Heston, was employed for training. This state of the art, bespoke simulator mimics the look and feel of real human flesh and features the full range of organs, blood vessels and key anatomies needed for facilitating learning.
Supporting Heston, we also deployed our neonatal models and our new VR learning experience, which simulates a mass casualty event. This immersive experience focuses on the triage of ten patients using International Committee of the Red Cross categories: serious wounds, second priority, superficial wounds and severe wounds.
To date, the Foundation has trained 803 medics across 28 courses, benefiting an estimated 1.7 million patients. Through this global network of war doctors, we can raise the standard of medical care worldwide and continue to save more lives and limbs. To help us train even more surgeons, you can donate here.
December 2019 Newsletter
In this Christmas newsletter we celebrate you, our wonderful supporters. Thanks to your kindness and generosity, this year we have been able to deliver nine specialised training courses in eight countries, training 127 medics from all across the world.
The doctors we train share their knowledge with colleagues, expanding our global network of skills sharing and improving patient outcomes in some of the world's most surgically austere environments.
Without your help, our work would simply not be possible. So, in this festive season, we want to thank you for everything that you do to support us.
We wish you a very merry Christmas and look forward to the new year ahead.
Our Impact Report has Landed!
We're delighted to share with you our first Impact Report. This report celebrates all that we have achieved as a Foundation since we started in 2015.
To read about how your donation has made a difference to the lives of countless patients, and to learn more about the surgeons we train, take a look at our Impact Report today!
Thank You from our Doctors
You may remember Dr Lucien from Uganda, who attended our specialised Surgical Training for Austere Environments (STAE) course in April.
Recently, Lucien travelled to London again for a conference and we were delighted to be able to see him. Presenting David with a beautiful wood carving, Lucien thanked the Foundation, saying: "Thank you for the training. I am so proud to be among the trainees".
Star Supporter: Bis Culley
Since 2016, Bis Culley has been working hard to curate our beautiful range of greetings cards. Contacting illustrators, liaising with donors and arranging all the postage and packaging, Bis is truly one of our standout supporters.
From these cards alone, Bis has raised over £11,000 for the David Nott Foundation, enough to train eleven surgeons on our overseas HEST course. Alongside this, Bis has also run several fundraising events for us and even applied for a grant on our behalf.
If you haven't had the chance to buy your Christmas cards yet, please do take a look at all the designs we have on offer. The deadline for ordering is Wednesday 18th December, so don't miss out! 100% of the profits will go towards training war doctors and saving lives.
Our Impact Report has Landed!
We are delighted to share with you our first ever Impact Report. Thanks to your continued support and generosity, we are proud that the Foundation has trained a total of 772 doctors across 27 courses, improving the patient outcomes for the medical victims of conflict all across the world.
Click on the link below to learn more about the surgeons we train and how they're impacting their communities.
With many thanks to Andrew Rees at Westco Communications and Paul Gray-Nicholson at Fusion Paper for so generously supporting the production of our Annual Report and Impact Report.
November 2019 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to our latest news update.
In this month's issue, we reflect on our recent STAE course with the Royal College of Surgeons, put the spotlight on one of our #wardoctorheroes and celebrate the six runners who took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise £10,000 for the Foundation. We're also thrilled to tell you about our new Friends of David Nott Foundation societies, which are up and running across several UK universities.
Thank you as always for your continued support and generosity.
September STAE Course
At the end of September, we ran our 7th STAE course – Surgical Training for Austere Environments. These specialist courses, which are run in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons, equip medics with the knowledge, skills and confidence to treat patients and save lives.
But the training does not end with these courses alone. As Dr Koma Akim, one of the surgeons we trained, said: “Being able to practise the procedure means I have the confidence to do it, and if I can do it, I can teach it.” Through our training and through this worldwide knowledge sharing, we are proud that our courses have saved an estimated 1.6 million lives and limbs to date.
Because of your continued generosity, we are able to offer fully funded scholarships to surgeons who work in challenging conditions to attend this London-based course. We are delighted that our September STAE course was completed by 14 such scholars from all over the world, including South Sudan, Cameroon, Libya and Pakistan.
You can read more about these incredible surgeons here.
Taking on the Royal Parks Half
We are beyond grateful to the six runners who took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon for the Foundation last October. Running nearly 80 miles between them and raising a whopping £10,000, their perseverance and dedication means we can now train ten more surgeons to treat more patients and save more lives.
Lindsey Crockett, one of our runners and a senior GP, said: "I'm very proud and thankful for the opportunity to contribute. I cannot think of a more worthy cause to help." You can read more about our other runners and their motivation here.
We're always thrilled to hear from donors taking on challenge events in aid of the Foundation so please don't hesitate to get in touch if you, or someone you know, is doing something special.
Spotlight on Dr Youssef Saab
In this latest instalment of our #wardoctorheroes series, we're proud to introduce Dr Youssef Saab from Lebanon, one of our recent STAE course scholars. Youssef is a Lebanese surgeon who works 3km from the Syrian border. The majority of his patients are child refugees, who, having fled from war, now deal with chronic wounds and burns.
As Youssef explained: "War is not just about the acute wounds. Wounds that have not been properly treated, which become infected or that fail to heal properly can be just as deadly."
Working with just one other surgeon in the Bekaa Valley refugee camp, Youssef regularly sees between 50-60 patients each day. Alongside chronic wounds, electric shocks and hot water burns are also common place, as conditions in the refugee camps remain hazardous, especially for young children.
Friends of David Nott Foundation
We're delighted to tell you about the new Friends of David Nott Foundation societies that are up and running across several UK universities. These societies will be raising awareness for the Foundation's work and helping to inspire the next generation of war doctors.
David and Ammar recently had the opportunity to visit the University of Manchester, where the first 'FDNF' society was established, to deliver a lecture on humanitarian medicine. Speaking to over 200 students, DNF surgical faculty member Ammar Darwish explained: "The best way to get into humanitarian work is to volunteer for these charities and complete your training".
Alongside Manchester, students at St George's, King's College London, Sussex and Durham University have also set up FDNF societies and will be fundraising for us throughout the academic year. If you would like to set up an FDNF society at your university, please get in touch!
You can read more about how these societies will be supporting us here.