Sunday evening, Brane-Nishat (this is the name of the village where the office is located). It is 8:00 PM and the mullahs all around (there are 4 mosques within shouting distance) are calling the faithful to prayers. I have rested, inventoried all the medical supplies, and will go to the pharmacy tomorrow to pick up additional supplies. We will do more teaching of our four men tomorrow -- they are Gulzar, Monzoor, Ajaz, and Muzufar. All four are native Gujjar and desperately want to learn from Dr. Bruce Sahib, so that they can help their own people/familes, but so that they can also make a living. They are eager, their English is good for listening skills, and some of them can speak excellent English, so communication is barely a struggle.
As you can see, everywhere we go we draw a crowd. (Isn't that dzo handsome? -- that is a cross between a yak and a cow). In the one photo with the horse, they put a series of ropes on him, cast and tied him, and we went to work. This is Gulzar doing the work. Dr. Dan, as you said, this is nearly my 'Budda' photo!) Lots of pus rolled out of that abscess and he was hacking and spitting, but he stayed with it. Monzoor couldn't take it, but he promised to stay close the next time!! This was a deep, dissecting abscess, due to poor conformation (most of the horses have a very prominent spine), poor padding under the saddle, poor nutrition (their muscle mass is VERY lean, BS 2-3), or hard work with heavy loads that bruise the spine while travelling. Hopefully, cleaning, draining, flushing, and packing the wound with good antibiotic ointments, plus long acting penicillin will help a great deal. We were rewarded with Chi (a local tea) and a visit with all the important people in camp, including lots of children and boys. The girls over 12 and all the women stay away for religious purposes.
In the next photo, we are working with a fresh wound to the top of this sheep's shoulder area that was inflicted several weeks ago by a bear. It had nearly healed, but I wanted to clean the wound. I was using scissors and cutting away wool and throwing it on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the old man picking up each and every scrap of wool as I worked. When I started stuffing each bit in his hand, he smiled and nodded. It was then that I realized that they would use even these scraps to make yarn, or something!. How easy it is to waste something useful, and to the Gujjar, this was valuable material. I also looked at a young goat in this camp who had a rear leg fracture just above his hock that could not be repaired, and I gave them the bad news.
I had to make that statement several times before the believed that I couldn't "fix" everything. Hopefully, he will be good to eat!
The team hiked to nearly 13,000' to this next camp to examine this family elder's prized billie goat who was also attacked by a bear. (I could smell the goat from 200 yards away!!) The attack occurred 5 days earlier and if the guard dog had not caused the bear to drop the animal, we wouldn't be doing this work. The wound was deep and the dying tissue was even deeper between the spine and the shoulder. The old man began chanting a prayer when I got out my knife and cut open a lower drain hole in his prize possession. This time, I was ready to hand over the important hair following clipping to clear the wounds. 4 big bite wounds from BIG incisors. They luckily had someone in camp who will be able to give antibiotic injections for the next couple of days. (at least he said he would try!!) While working on this wound I noticed a bandage , on his left rear leg. If you look carefully, you can see it. They told me that the goat had injured himself when he tried to run away from the bear. I asked to see, and they removed the most beautiful home-made splint that I have ever seen. They had used green bark to mold and shape a cast as surely as if it were made from fiberglass!! There was also a poultice of material that they had applied and the skin beneath looked perfectly healthy even after 5 days. The goat had a 'dropped hock', or an injury to his achilles tendon and they were treating it very appropriately. It was a reminder to me that we were there to 'compliment' their medical skills, not totally insist on western medicine. I am reminded that I cannot come in and suggest that they are ignorant nomads. When I told the old man that HE was Doctor Sahib, he pointed to his young grand-daughter who just beamed! The poultice is an old family recipe that they use for themselves and the livestock.
We overnighted on the mountain in a quanset hut type structure that Titus dreamed up, and the temp must have gotten down into the 40's. I slept well in my clothes and sleeping bag. I have always believed that you have packed in too many clothes if you don't wear all you brought to bed to keep warm!! Breakfast was boiled eggs and some bread cakes that we had from the previous day, then off to our final village of the day. Here I saw a calf that had eaten 'poisonous grass'. It was a weak 150# calf that had terrible diarrhea and could not stand up. I asked for a sample of the grass, and they set the young children off to find it. What they brought back was a beautiful Rhodendron bloom and foilage! For those of you who know, this is indeed toxic to cows. They seemed taken aback when I asked for them to bring charcoal from the fire pit, and then ground it to a powder with two rocks. We made our own charcoal emulsion, and drenched him with it, gave him some B-complex that we had, gave him a drench of 'Fever Don' which is an herbal anti-inflammatory that we are using alot of, and I instructed them to give him some yogurt or yeast to stimulate his rumen. They smiled and said that they had been giving 'milik' (home-made yogurt) since he got sick, and indeed this was another example of how their folk-lore is very solid. This animal also had an amulet around his neck to ward off evil spirits!
The work is amazing, but I am depressed with the amount of trash that they leave in their camps. Their culture does not value picking up after themselves. It is too bad that modern man invented plastic bags and plastic containers, because that stuff will be on the mountain for generations. The Indian government is on the verge of mandating cardboard boxes for nearly all beverages, and after what I have seen, this will be an improvement, because they could burn the boxes. There was an enclosed, sit down double toilet in this camp that was filled with rubbish. I guess they just couldn't get used to that thing, and have elected to go native. Yet, some of them have cell phones!!?
I am going to do a bit of reading, then off to bed. It has been stifling hot today, and fortunately, my room has an overhead fan. I sleep like my son Sam, with it wide open all night. More tomorrow .. ..
, the 29th. Titus and I went shopping today for more veterinary supplies. Many of these were purchased at the veterinary supply center, many were bought at the local pharmacy. Downtown is a mess, with helter-skelter traffic, horns blowing, dirt, garbage and LOTS of people. Clearly, I prefer the country and the mountains. We are preparing for a longer mountain trip this time. the quanset hut at left is our base camp at 11,000'. It is VERY comfortable and the toilet is behind the big rock in the background. (: This is where we will spend tomorrow night, then we will move on up to the higher pastures that don't usually get any Westerners, at 15,000' - 15,500'. This will be a 2 1/2 - 3 hour hike up and I am sure my lungs will burn, but I am already glad that I have been preparing. I am not the strongest hiker in the group, but the men seem to think that Dr. Bruce Sahib is OK in the mountains.
Did I say that the children were beautiful? I don't know if the blog will allow you to blow up this photo, but this is one of the most beautiful children that I have ever seen (besides my own, of course!). The man in the background was so pleased that a short, fat, white man from US would hike to his campsite. We talked for an hour of how we were honoring him, just by being there. There is a huge pilgrimage taking place in this area, where Hindu men and women (Yatri) are travelling to a sacred cave at around 14,800' near this area. (The Amaranth Cave -- this is where, according to Hindu legend, that life originated). Every day, this man takes his horses and goes to earn money by horse-back riding these pilgrims to the cave. Some say it is cheating, and that you should walk, but that is not a discussion for me to be a part of. The point is, this man and his family have a 5-6 week window to make money from the tourists, and they need healthy animals to do this. We have encountered a small number of Christian men in the area, and they are very discreet about their faith. They could be ousted from their camp or even worse, killed by some of the more militant Muslims that might be in the area.
Please note the bridge we had to cross in order to get to his camp. I think it was one lane, no passing!! The water is glacier melt which is very cold and running fast and deep. CVC vet's please note the yellow 'vet' box that I built from scratch. We also carry buckets with basic supplies. Would someone call Becky Mcglothlin at Virginia Blood Services and tell her my hat made it to the mountain!!? LBW, I am going to wear my Virginia Wildlife one next, look for it!
This is one of the typical 'summer homes' of the Gujjar. Note the brush piled around the tents. This is to ward off bears and other hungry critters at night. The fire is just inside the opening, and there could be as many a 8-10 people sleeping in this shelter. We will be camping at or near similar shelters for the next several nights, and I hope to bring you some great photos. Please don't be alarmed if I don't check in for 3-5 days, I am not sure yet. I cherish your comments and your prayers. To my brothers Thomas and Kenneth, I thank you for your notes of encouragement. Us old farm boys are pretty handy with practical stuff, and these people have benefitted from their first glance at duct tape. It's magic the way it sticks and it makes a heck of a bandage for a foot!! I really don't miss a thing at home (except for you NLB), and I lack for nothing. (I take that back, a hot shower would be nice....., I am bathing in a bucket, but that is better than many nights on the ATC!) The next few days should be SWEET!! Andiamo!! 
