The Pharmacist (1999)

Excerpt from the draft of “Apostle to the Pygmies – The Doctor Jerry Galloway Story”

I took a summer trip to my home in the U.S., and could not recall a worse week after returning from a vacation. Upon my return, I found a note under my door. The letter said that small stores in the area had an ample supply of medications that came from the pharmacy. I asked the pharmacist for his stock forms. The pharm6acist had destroyed the paperwork for 72 different medicines. I reacted in anger and suspended him on the spot. After more investigation, we found the pharmacist had stolen several thousand tablets of aspirin, chloroquine, and antibiotics. I felt sick to think he would do such a thing.

I spent most of the week in the pharmacy since I had fired the pharmacist. The chief of police arrived from Kiri to do an investigation. He arrested the ex-pharmacist, and he believed there might have been others involved, as well. The affair upset me, but I knew I had to carry on for the sake of the patients.

Once again, I became the only hospital doctor. Dr. Bakoko returned to his village for a ceremony for his recently deceased mother. The hospital filled with patients and many had respiratory infections. We also had several cases of malnutrition, which we did not often see here. Most of the cases were Ekonda infants. The Ekonda depended on the Botoa for fish, wild game, and caterpillars. However, the summer fishing season had been poor. Therefore, the Botoa kept most of the fish for themselves. The Ekonda relied on leafy greens and manioc roots, which were low in protein.