Today we started out in jubilation. But, if you’ve been reading these posts, you know that there has been some drama, intrigue, and now apparent sinister forces circling around our mission here.
This was the first day with Dr. Robins gone. We set out at about 9 am to go to Dr. Carew’s closed hospital to pick up ozone machines and supplies to take to Hastings, the government ebola treatment center about 16 miles away. However, the eager young doctors for some “strange” reasons all cancelled their participation. The excuses were somewhat suspicious. Only the previous days they met with us at the President’s residence and the minister of defense (ebola czar). I’ll comment more on this later.
16 miles here is not like 16 miles in the USA, unless you are attempting four wheeling across a just plowed road. The potholes and bumps made going mercilessly slow and rocky. Some places were single lane and people walk on roads everywhere, so evading them is luck as much as art. We got to the ebola treatment center around noon. We were expected.
Mind you, it was a former police training headquarters before ebola. I saw real people emerging from the containment unit in space suits. We were nowhere close to this. We entered the camp’s headquarters where there were lots of staff, doctors and nurses. These are mighty brave people. Our role was to introduce them to ozone therapy, demonstrate it on them, teach them to do it, and explain how it can and will protect them as well as treat the patient. Then, they do the treatments.
Unbeknownst to me until later, the major (army) in charge of the camp received a call from the assistant minister of health. She told him, “Your job will be in jeopardy if you allow them to use ozone therapy on anyone.” (This was inclusive of staff as well as patients). We went through a healthy routine of explaining.
Being medical staff, they had appropriate questions, indicating that they had really listened. But, being also healthy skeptics, I decided to show them the movie I made (and posted on you tube) of several prominent physicians they know. They were shocked and quickly lined up for treatment! Then Dr. Carew demonstrated the technique. I only had to polish a small part of his talk and technique. He has it down real good!
While Dr. Carew was treating, I was called out by Dr. Carew’s devoted young physician protégé. He told me about the phone call. After what we had been through all week, wasting time in meetings rather than treating people and teaching more, and the 4 weeks of my life I gave up for this trip, aside from financial losses, I lost it. I am rather slow to anger, real slow. But when I blow, you know.
I first tracked down the major. I told him I am Jewish, and 6,000,000 of my people were murdered by Nazis “following orders”. I told him that those Nazis who followed those orders were later convicted of genocide and war crimes.
Then I laid the analogy to ebola. While ebola is not a human enemy, it is nevertheless doing genocide on the entire population. “If one knowingly allows a slaughter to occur when he might do something to stop it, is he not participating in the crime?” I asked.
I sternly suggested that his “order” might be considered a crime against humanity and illegal. Now, this man clearly was a good man. I could see it in his face. But, he responded that laws here might be different than laws in the USA. I countered. Protection of people from death is a universal law. I have to admit, I was really hot.
Then, I stormed back into the room where Dr. Carew had some 40 people clamoring for treatment and yelled for silence. I then told the staff what happened. They were dumfounded.
I explained that their ministers just condemned their citizens to a best recovery rate in this facility (which is advanced here in that it offers IV fluids) to a dismal 40%. I screamed that my first priority, and the President’s directive was to protect the brave souls working in the trenches. Now they would be deprived this remarkable method of prevention and treatment because of corrupt ministers.
I told them what I might do if I was in a similar situation. But, most interesting, they wanted to continue their treatments. The major didn’t stop the demonstrations on the staf. He allowed an ebola treating physician to learn and practice the ozone technique on the nurses, doctors and other staff. He wanted it himself! But, we knew patients would be barred from getting it!
So, we packed up all our supplies and equipment except the ozone machine itself, hoping Dr. Carew’s influence might result in a change of mind later. It did not. The minister of defense didn’t call Kojo back, and I got a run around from the President’s chief advisor when I called him. We were simply stunned.
I cannot explain the sense of loss I felt. 4 weeks of my life given up. One week to train more with Dr. Robins, one week here, and some weeks in quarantine if demanded by the government.
I told Kojo I wanted to go back on TV and tell the nation what is going on, openly and honestly. He called the station, got it confirmed, but due to slow going over moon crater potholes and bumps, we got in way late.
However, I went directly to Sam Valcastle who interviewed me last night on his deeply probing program. As luck would have it, his program this evening was a full hour featuring “experts” on ebola and one of the 4 cancelled.
After listening to my rant, he asked me a question. “When I ask you if you think the ebola situation in this country is under control and being managed properly, how will you answer?”
I put my TV hat back on and performed like I did last night, which really impressed him. I said, “This nation is headed for a calamity because you have high ranking government officers wanting to stress burning bodies and proper burial procedures rather than eliminating the virus in the living and saving people from the grave digger.”
He liked the answer, and my regained poise and professionalism, and I was on. And we ended up with a heated debate with the other three government paid fools (in my opinion, though one of the three actually tacitly agreed with me).
The worst of the bunch accused me of coming here to “experiment” on Sierra Leoneans as if they were guinea pigs. This was the only point where I sharply hit.
He stressed the need for safety and procedure and going before their government committees, NERC (National Ebola Recovery Commission), of which he is a mental masturbating member, holding many meetings wasting tons of money coming from abroad, yet doing nothing. The numbers are only worsening while these nitwits are claiming they are getting a handle on it.
I then gave the analogy to the one (of the three) who seemed reasonable. I asked him if his mother got ebola, if he would rather risk a 60% certain death rate, or consider a KNOWN safe treatment with lots of promise to attenuate the disease.
He admitted it posed a dilemma for him. So I said, “What of all the families being destroyed as we speak, and every delay makes it worse?” After the show, Kojo stormed in attacking the real bad guy for showing great disrespect to me. Clearly, there was significant political maneuvering in the ozone matter.
We actually had gotten the approval from NERC, as the defense minister is its chief. We just bypassed all the bullsh** committees with the help of the President and others, by going to the chief. I was scathingly attacked for not presenting ozone to the health ministry.
However, not only am I not familiar with SL laws, but I pointed out that ALL in the health ministry had been informed and invited to the lectures, but deliberately stonewalled us. And, that most prominent private doctors in the country did attend, and ALL of them endorsed the mission, most receiving treatments themselves.
I closed by telling him, “I have 24 hours left in your country. I am only 2 miles from you during these hours. You only need a 10-minute trip, in contrast to me coming here from 10,000 miles away.
If you don’t take advantage of that tomorrow, I’ll consider you negligent in your duties.”
He had NO answer, but I have no doubt neither he nor his cadre will make any attempt. I did praise the President deservedly.
I personally believe, like many chief of states, that the people around him are not properly informing him of what they are doing.
Kojo and I then went to dinner where we were surprised by one of the Rotarians from last night eating there. He said he saw the show and was shocked at the now exposed attitude of the government in this matter. He happens to be an agent for the World Bank here.
We returned to Kojo’s house where we ate a bit more, being very despondent over the terrible turn of events, and unnecessary deaths that will now likely occur. Kojo had earlier told me he would take this work to neighboring Liberia where he just got an invitation to train 5 doctors on yet more donated Longevity Resources ozone machines.
He also knows its President as well. After much discussion this evening, we did find the silver lining in this dark cloud.
Dr. Carew (Kojo) was offered a large donation from well to do SL citizens who spend much time abroad to set up a private ebola clinic. Seems these people are concerned about what will happen to them if they get ebola, and they totally trust him. He said there is no cap on the amount. Kojo’s hospitals are currently closed due to ebola.
However, he could EASLILY turn one into a private ebola treatment facility, as it doesn’t need any government approval. It is already licensed!!
With the funds, and with the help of ozone engineer Jeff McNamara, this building could easily be transformed into a state of the art “clean” treatment center using ozone “fogging” of the building. It could be done in as little as a few weeks here.
And it would be easy for him to attract ebola victims and get staff that we trained. We ended the evening with the decision to can going to Liberia, and instead open up a private facility where patients could be served ENTIRELY in their interests as well as the protective interests of the staff, and not be in servitude to corrupt state interests.
So dear followers of this dread disease, while tonight there is a new case announced in New York, please know that our mission is not in vain. Dr. Carew is now thoroughly trained in the Robins’ intravenous ozone method and the Rowen-Robins ebola treatment approach.We will get it underway with the incredibly generous donations from around the world that came with us, and that are still unused.
And what if that grating bureaucrat’s family contracts ebola and comes crawling to us for ozone? Well rather than experiment on them, they can be sent to the state run facility, which will provide IV fluids (absolutely necessary) and any other experimental treatments Pharma will be testing on the afflicted population.
In the meantime, I’ll just have to exercise and practice patience, one of my known weak points, especially when it comes to getting results with my patients (smile).
PS For those of you in the religious category, Kojo told me this. He needed a man to work on a serious oxygen tank problem we had the first day.
My worst fears materialized that his oxygen fittings would not match ours. I thought the mission would be lost for lack of O2 to make O3. Well, much like Cuba, they have some real innovative people here, since they are so isolated. His oxygen man cut, for our 10 tanks, 10 male to male fittings with perfect threads, so they could be filled. I was amazed.
Now this man didn’t know what the fittings were to be used for at all. Just before awakening the following morning (Sunday), he awakened with a nightmare.
Demons were chasing him yelling, “Why are you trying to help Dr. Carew?” This technician had not a clue as to what the purpose of those fittings was (treatment of ebola patients with ozone). He instantly called his minister, who directed him to tell the story to Dr. Carew immediately. Hmmmm
Warm regards,
RJR