Elizabeth got introduced to medicine through the fluke of getting involved in homeopathy. A lady from the London School of Homeopathy who was a neighbour to Elizabeth’s coastal family home was keen on introducing homeopathy to the community. At that time Elizabeth was a volunteer at a HIV community based project called Harvest of Hope, a Kilifi based community organisation that the lady had interaction with. It was the 90s when there was much stigma around HIV and testing was not yet a standard practice. Liz spent the time she had between high school and university intake participating in the activities of the project and understanding homeopathy better.

Liz without the scrubs!

“I acknowledged that I was drawn to people and drawn to aspects of health and recovery,” says Liz. Right after joining her first year of medical school Liz approached the Aga Khan Hospital requesting to shadow a doctor. She was given the opportunity and once she entered the theatre it was love at first sight, she knew there and then that she would become a surgeon.

Being a Surgeon has not stopped her from being a homeopath, “Wellness is a combination of many things: the mind, the body, the spirit. Homeopathy has its roots in ancient medicine using plants and can boost one’s wellness through the benefits found in plants that have been studied,” adding that conventional medical drugs have the same plant components.

Elizabeth goes back to reflecting on the beginnings of surgery – which was never about wellness. This was the most horrific experience a person could undergo. As far as 3000BC holes were drilled into the skull believed to either get rid of evil spirits or migraines. There was no anesthesia and antiseptics available; the cutting off of body parts mostly led to death. This evolved to looking at surgery as repair versus getting rid of body parts.

In her fourth year of medicine, Liz heard of a surgical camp conducted by the Surgical Society of Kenya. She quickly became a travelling doctor starting in Kericho and did her internship in Tenwek Hospital- a faith based institution in Bomet county. She felt that mission hospitals gave a broad scope and were a good way to gain expertise in one’s practice while ministering and sharing the word of God to the patient at the same seating . Thereafter, she took off to Kapenguria, north east of Kitale, where she wanted to additionally gain experience working in government hospitals as a Medical Officer. Liz further proceeded to pursue her specialist training in General Surgery through the Pan African Association of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) where she opted to go to Tenwek, recalling the curiosity she had for the place during that first ride to Kericho.

Liz operating with male surgeons

For Liz, she finds that there is still a challenge in medical training and the female doctors have gone the extra mile to change. This is the shift from the lecturer holding authority as the source of all knowledge – something she experienced in her undergraduate studies. In Tenwek and with the PAACS programme there was collaboration, integration and diversity that is made to be a ‘culture’ of training to ensure the patient was at the centre.

Spirituality is an important aspect of that wellness to Liz.

“Sometimes when you are really unwell as a patient, you do not know what to do, you rely on the doctor. At the end of the day we have been called to work with our hands as surgeons, but we ultimately still also rely on God; faith is important regardless of whether one lives or dies.”

The doctors at Tenwek always pray with the patients before proceeding with surgery. The patients are grateful for this.

By being part of this collaborative community of health workers, Liz was comforted when she herself was on the other side of surgery as the patient. She experienced the fear her patients felt but trusted her team to faithfully do their best, as they had done when she was on the other end as part of the surgical team.

Liz with her supportive husband, a fellow doctor

Liz has now lived in Bomet for 10 years. There she met and got married to a fellow doctor who is a surgeon, researcher and gastroenterologist, together raising their two children. Not only are they doctors but they are also educationists. Seeing the gap in education in Tenwek, they together founded the Tenwek International School currently providing early years education to 34 children. This, she envisions, may also encourage other health workers to consider practicing in Bomet as well as providing jobs by training the teachers in the region. They currently facilitate teaching training by bringing in trainers and merging that with online training, to provide a holistic and eclectic education.

Doctors cry with patients, cry alone, cry with the nurses and take some time off to recover. Liz’s faith keeps her going through these difficult times of loss and holding space for the family that often starts with denial.

“Walking the journey with the patient gives closure to everyone, unlike if you just walked away after surgery. Equally so, after successful surgeries, relationships have developed amid the professionalism.”

One of the difficult scenarios for doctors is the inevitable loss of a patient. Many times this is after investments in time and resources and also establishing relationships with them and their families. Nothing truly prepares health workers for this. Liz is thankful for the team that is around her and her family at large for constantly providing support in such difficult times.

With organisations like The Surgical Society of Kenya and the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons, surgeons find support amongst each other. Liz notes that burnout and depression are some of the challenges facing medical workers due to the nature of their job. Female surgeons have played a key role in encouraging both male and female surgeons to demonstrate empathy and acceptance of the vulnerabilities of being a surgeon.

Liz is passionate about looking at medicine holistically (as with education). She has completed a Women in Leadership Course offered by the Strathmore Business School and an online training on Leadership management in health care (LMIH) offered by the University of Washington and is currently undertaking a course on Hospital Management for Health Professionals-(HMHP) offered by the Strathmore Business School. She hopes to pursue a fellowship in surgical oncology and Global Surgery within the next 5 years. Unlike Miriam and Marilynn who are focusing on breast surgery, Liz is looking to stay with surgical oncology broadly instead of specialising akin to her holistic outlook. Her hope is to minimise what is now called medical tourism and to see patients opt to seek treatment at home. In addition, she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of surgeons and leaders.