Pandemic Warrior talks to full house at the club
Dr John Parker was our guest speaker at the Fridays breakfast meeting, and he didn't disappoint. For a humanitarian doctor who has spent his career fighting pandemics in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria with Red Cross and MSF.
For a self confessed adrenaline junkie he appears to be remarkably normal. But looks are deceiving.
John spoke most entertainingly and movingly about the horrors and comedy of being a doctor on the front line dealing with deadly diseases at very close quarters. But his message was not disease but trauma.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD has been the scourge of John's life. He battled with the things he saw overseas, and that led to a troubled life. John was remarkably frank about how his career and desire to fight pandemics had impacted on himself and his relationships. John has put his recollections in is book " From Choler to Ebola".
As Tim Costello (CEO of World Vision) says "My experiences pale compared to John's .....and he has put it all in his book which is not for the faint-hearted."
An amazing man with an amazing story.
Big thanks to Mike for bringing Dr. John Parker to the meeting. Everyone enjoyed listening to this most inspiring humanitarian doctor, now living in Buderim.