Broken Guts
Author
Anthony Aikman, a retired doctor who has spent many years in under-developed
countries and now helping the Lahoo hill tribe villagers in North Thailand,
sent his latest book “Broken Guts” (ISBN 1-888822-34-1) to our editor, who
in turn passed it on to me, who in turn passed it on to our own doctor, Dr.
Iain, for his comments. The reason for this was the subtitle, which is “A
Rough medical guide for Foreign Travellers in Thailand and S.E. Asia”.
Opening the book, the idea of a ‘rough guide’ is immediately borne out. This
book has not been printed in one of the more usual fonts, but is a copy of
author Aikman’s own hand-written manuscript. I have also previously reviewed
one of Aikman’s earlier books “Boy, Doc and the Green Man” and in which I
wrote, “Doc is introduced - a foreign doctor who spends his days attempting
to practice western medicine and dentistry in the rural community. It is the
Doc character who spends much time attempting to teach Boy about the
ethereal concepts of creation and the part one’s personal God has to play in
formulating and accepting the force within.” That character is obviously
modeled upon author Aikman, and his personal philosophy, where in this book
he covers the “Big Bang” theory of creation, some soul searching quoting
Plato, and a short discourse on why Homo Sapiens is a misnomer. There is
also the sobering message that children are still dying from malaria “when a
few pills, the price of a packet of cigarettes - would have saved them.”
(From Dr. Iain): “The book opens with a very clear explanation of what it
is. It is not a medical treatise or undergraduate textbook (though
undergraduates could learn from it, even if it were just ‘common sense’). It
is a ‘Rough guide, only intended to be a simple and practical help for
travelers, dealing with ordinary ailments and accidents that may occur on
their journeys.’
“I found little to criticize in the medical advice, being very sound and
based on some years of experience in under-doctored regions of the world. I
also liked his literary style, a conversational dawdle through the
intricacies of the human body with such gems as ‘Kidneys. They come in
pairs. Unlike liver and heart you do have a spare in case one breaks down.’
“All very good practical advice and I must admit I have never read
instructions for lay persons on how to make a suppository!” (Dr. Iain)
As opposed to the norm, author Aikman’s book has two pages of Index starting
on page 7, and has kept everything as simple as possible. Do not look for
hemorrhoids under “H”, but you will find piles under “P”. The short homilies
interspersed with medical advice made good reading, and in line with his
personal credo, the book can be downloaded free from the website
www.anthonyaikman.co.uk. There was a short note with the review copy which
stated “If this book helps you – please help the next needy person you
meet.” A deep and meaningful concept from an obviously deep and well meaning
man.
