Scoots 2013. The road to Bansang

[steve hughes]

In dull November , what a great read against the razamataz of children in need. Rather than pledging a fiver by texting xyz , you rode it, engaged it, added value to these peoples lives.

Fantastic well done and to all get well soon

 

[Gvcrt]

Thanks Paula for a great report and thanks to Andy for the pictures I'm sure the memories will live forever in his mind and the hardship he has gone through will fade, he's an example to us all and especially to the people with type 1 diabetes . I've read this with admiration for all involved and know its been done for a good cause, but there is a lot more to being a good leader than just getting to the end of the challenge, the first thing in good leadership is keeping a united team and the responsibility for the welfare of everyone in that team I'm not saying that he should be wipeing arses or that anyone would need that but ensuring that everyone involved stays fit and healthy is paramount . It seems to me and I could be way off the mark that the priority of this team leader was having his ego polished at the end
WELL DONE ALL OF YOU
Graeme

 

[oblertone]

... I could be way off the mark

You got that bit right.

 

[MATKAT]

You got that bit right.

I would agree !

Paula has recorded the trip so well, as Andy see's it and it has been an excellent read with some stunning pictures.
However, remember there is 3 sides to any account like this, Andy's side, the other group members perspective and of course the insight of a 3rd party looking in and evaluating the outcome with logic and not emotion.
Group dynamics always change during a challenge of this nature, over the years when I have organised and led wilderness canoe and kayak trips I have seen it many times.
Everyone who has taken part will reflect, knowing Dennis I know he will, I know Andy and Paula, great folks too. No doubt the hardship memories will recede and Andy will remember the positive part and also the fact that from now he is in a very select band of people who have ben there and done it.

 

[Ogmios]

Having done it. (2011 'Rebels tour' )

In dull November , what a great read against the razamataz of children in need. Rather than pledging a fiver by texting xyz , you rode it, engaged it, added value to these peoples lives.

Fantastic well done and to all get well soon

Well put.
"engaged" - you certainly are.
All your senses and feelings are sharpened. Life becomes extremely vivid.
If anything, your own "1st World Problems" - be it discomfort or medical condition for example, become dim and insignificant compared to what you see there.
One of the guys i travelled with was diabetic - you wouldn't have known it though as he just got on with managing it, i was on a few painkillers and was doing daily injections (dont laugh; HRT ) until the cooler couldn't keep the meds cold any more.
Your focus of what's important changes.
One effect that will never leave you and is quite intense while you are there is that you explore - willingly or not, every aspect of your inner self.
Not getting all Zen about it - just that you WILL see all of YOU, the good the bad and the insecure parts of YOU and have to deal with them, By Your Self.
Regardless of the 'quality' of your company - the biggest task is coping with it all on your own. YOU can only rely on YOU.
.... or maybe that's just me.

Leadership;
(and here i must declare that denis is not on my Christmas card list - my experience was uncannily similar to Andys and while i would do the trip again tomorrow without hesitation - i would not accept denis as 'leader')
It is a valid point that

ensuring that everyone involved stays fit and healthy is paramount

if only for selfish reasons and to ensure the trip is actually completed!
The bonus to that is all feel much better about doing the trip AFTERwards. Then they can ENcourage not DIScourage others that this (and it truly is) a Great cause that deserves EVERY (including denis ) bit of help it can get.
~~~
Marc

 

[(RIP) Dennis]

Alternatively, for a different and perhaps more balanced perspective on the trip, have a look at:
http://critsmit.tumblr.com/

 

[oblertone]

Alternatively, for a different and perhaps more balanced perspective on the trip, have a look at:
http://critsmit.tumblr.com/

That is a little gem; well done and thank you.

 

[Phil Reynolds]

We'll done to one and all for carrying out what sounded like a really tough challenge regardless of whether you agree with the cause or not. Congrats to all

 

[Paula aka Mrs Humbug]

And just one more post.....

Alternatively, for a different and perhaps more balanced perspective on the trip, have a look at:
http://critsmit.tumblr.com/

Yes, I know I had signed off from this ride report but there is something I would like to add to the mix!

The link in Dennis' post is the blog written by Chris - the (by far) youngest and therefore probably the fittest rider on the trip. I have been following his blog and found it very interesting - especially the way it is put together. I have since discovered that Chris has completed a creative writing course and that skill certainly comes through.

Chris' report is a very very good read and I am pleased that you can all share the content. I will be interested to look again when he completes it right up to, and including the hospital.

The issue I have is not Chris' words but the fact that Dennis describes his report as "more balanced". I have said all along that I wrote my report through Andy's eyes and his perception of the trip - I also pointed out that if you read another persons ride report you may think you were in a different time zone! Everyone views things differently - that is what makes life varied and interesting.

When Dennis says "more balanced" I am sure he means "meets his approval". Chris was one of the riders at the front with Dennis and I am sure saw the trip quite differently than Andy who was at the back - often with long distances between the two sets of riders - illustrated throughout my report by numerous photos of empty road ahead of Andy and Joe.

Also the other huge factor is that for much of the trip Andy felt extremely unwell. The way he was feeling is bound to affect his view of the trip. I did also promise to record it warts and all.

However, none of this really matters - they are just words on a page. What matters to me now is the fact that Andy was, and is still unwell - and that could not and should not have happened.

Promises were made to him over several months that were simply not kept and because of this he found it impossible to regulate his blood sugars.

At times he was close to collapse either with dangerously low or high sugar levels. Once this pendulum action starts it is very difficult to get it stable and that is why he is still struggling and I suspect will be for some time. This fluctuation has long term affects on his vital organs and thus is very worrying.

Since Andy has been home and we have been able to chat about it all I am horrified that he became so ill - I was not aware of just how bad he had felt - and at the way he has been treated - made to feel like a leper at times.

I can fully appreciate that folk generally do not have an understanding of type 1 diabetes. That is why we made sure that Dennis knew all the facts and was happy to take Andy along. He assured us that there would be plenty of time for Andy to manage his bloods and have regular snacks. This simply did not happen and I feel bitter and angry that Dennis was prepared to put Andy's life at risk. I am not being melodramatic - blood sugars in excess of 30 and below 3 can very easily induce a coma and death.

No ride report is unbalanced in the eyes of it's author. A factual report would simply be that - a string of facts - and we would all be asleep in seconds of starting to read it. It is the personal input that makes it a good read. So shall we just say that everyone's individual report of their journey is balanced and honest to them.

 

[DavidHale]

If I may, I'd like to throw a slightly different perspective on this. On page one, Jill is mentioned as the "nurse of the trip" - where was she during all this? As a medical professional she should be well aware of the implications of the blood sugar levels you mentioned, and may well have experienced the fall out of those levels in her patients. Dennis isn't a medical professional, and even though you have explained things in full detail he may not have fully comprehended the seriousness of it. He may not have realised that diabetic coma is a very serious condition and requires medical intervention of the sort that wouldn't be available en route.

Obviously I wasn't there, I don't know any of the people involved apart from having spoken to Dennis on the phone once or twice a few years ago, so I've no axe to grind or side to take. This is just an observation based on what I've read above.

 

[Packer]

Perhaps there is a need to alternate the Scoots trips with Bansang Bits Blitz's, adventure trips with the specific aim of taking substantial amounts of Cub parts to the hospital, perhaps with folk that can spend a week or more out there sorting existing machines, Replacing swing arm bearings, fitting new suspension parts, cleaning sludge traps and rebuilding knackered engines.

It seems bizarre looking in from the comfort of home that the senior doctor is having to work as the mechanic too.

 

[Fanum]

It seems bizarre looking in from the comfort of home that the senior doctor is having to work as the mechanic too.

The whole thing over there is fucked up TBH.......people do what they have to do, according to their motivation levels and ability

There is one hell of a lot of well meaning but utterly useless donating going on....the scoots are not roped in with that BTW, but there is a riders for health scrapyard a couple of miles down the dirt track that has maybe a dozen or more landies, landcruisers and assorted 4x4s in it......all dead, for lack of servicing and knowledge of maintenance.

On the first scoots trip, we found a couple of £50k hi-tech incubators dumped out the back.....they had worked for two months, then the oxygen bottles had to be topped off.......the kit they have to supply oxygen doesn't mate up with the connections on the incubators.

To clean the filters on these incubators, you need specialised kit and chemicals......but obviously that doesn't exist over there either

Through Anita's efforts, the old ways of looking after newborns (dumping them in a bucket of water than wrapping them in a blanket were replaced by the Gambian version of a hi-tech incubator....they look like old pub games cabinets (space invaders etc) with three 100w bulbs in the ceiling of the cabinet and a blanket on the floor of where the screen would be....a fiver UK money to build.

Baby gets cold, they turn on a bulb...baby is very cold, turn on two, baby is hypothermic, turn them all on.......simples

100w bulbs, 30p from the local market...cabinet made out of local wood, waste boards etc......

The Round Table group who provided the incubators wouldn't accept that the need was for anti-malarials, brufen and aspirin........those would have saved 1000 lives whilst the incubators they sent probably saved three.

Everyone is guilty of it....if you look back to the very first scoots trip, we took in anything.....walking sticks, zimmer frames and so on included.
When we got there though, we were shown into a room where there were a hundred, two hundred, lots of zimmers, walking sticks etc

Simple drugs, anti-malarials, brufen aspirin, paracetamol....sterilisation kit that is EASY to use in the field (which is how you have to think of it) bandages dressings, antiseptic cremes, antibiotics etc...that's what they are literally dying for.

We KNOW that the scoots work.....we have seen the photos and read the reports of them getting about when cars and 4x4s can't.

The rest though, including (sadly) the portable defibrillator that we took on the first trip......wasted (my bad )

Ooooh....last example.....a bunch of 'Merkins spent a huge amount of money to send a truck sized genny to the hospital...........and over the years, they've received lots of kit from 'Merica.

Guess what......110v

Guerss what.....even when adapted to 230V (old English colonial hospital) they don't have the diesel to run for more than an hour or three a day (hence Paula's comments about lights out at x o clock)

A large part of the whole exercise though is continued interest, motivation and awareness of the situation...inspiration is passed on, further monies are raised, and the people who go back hopefully go back with more targeted, useful kit.

 

[Paula aka Mrs Humbug]

Quote from Fanum
Simple drugs, anti-malarials, brufen aspirin, paracetamol....sterilisation kit that is EASY to use in the field (which is how you have to think of it) bandages dressings, antiseptic cremes, antibiotics etc...that's what they are literally dying for.

Hi Fanum

This is so frustrating - we were told none of this until Andy got to the hospital. He gave Anita all the contents of the little medical kit I had prepared for his own use and that included quite a few paracetamol.
Our Surgery donated a load of blood sugar testers as Dennis said that Anita can get the test strips for them.
I have boxes of painkillers here - they were prescribed to me when I had back problems - they will likely as not be thrown away - I could have put them into Andy's paniers so room on the truck would not be an issue.

My sister and I are at present, clearing our Mum's bungalow - we have found loads of bandages and dressings that we had no idea what to do with. They may have been thrown away already - I cannot remember. However, if they are still there, is there a way to get them to the hospital?

 

[Paula aka Mrs Humbug]

Quote from Fanum
There is one hell of a lot of well meaning but utterly useless donating going on....the scoots are not roped in with that BTW, but there is a riders for health scrapyard a couple of miles down the dirt track that has maybe a dozen or more landies, landcruisers and assorted 4x4s in it......all dead, for lack of servicing and knowledge of maintenance.

Fanum
So why has quite a sizable part of the money Andy ( and of course the others) paid to Dennis for the trip, going to be used towards purchasing a tractor that will presumably go the same way as these vehicles?

 

[Paula aka Mrs Humbug]

If I may, I'd like to throw a slightly different perspective on this. On page one, Jill is mentioned as the "nurse of the trip" - where was she during all this? As a medical professional she should be well aware of the implications of the blood sugar levels you mentioned, and may well have experienced the fall out of those levels in her patients. Dennis isn't a medical professional, and even though you have explained things in full detail he may not have fully comprehended the seriousness of it. He may not have realised that diabetic coma is a very serious condition and requires medical intervention of the sort that wouldn't be available en route.

Obviously I wasn't there, I don't know any of the people involved apart from having spoken to Dennis on the phone once or twice a few years ago, so I've no axe to grind or side to take. This is just an observation based on what I've read above.

Hello David

Andy did not really need medical intervention - thank goodness - it was empathy he required. He needed time to test his blood, take insulin as necessary and have a cup of coffee and a snack - all these things which we were assured would be easily provided as part of the day for everyone.

Sadly, on most days, it just did not happen - there was never time and no effort made to make time when it was requested.

Others could keep energy levels up with sugary drinks etc, so they could manage without proper food/drink breaks - not an option for Andy - a stop for them could just be a can of coke and onward they could go. On those occasions Andy could only have water.

Dennis did not need to be an expert in type 1 diabetes - just make the allowances he had promised at every pre trip meeting.

Jill was aware of Andy's sugar levels but she could not provide what he needed - that could only be facilitated by the person setting the pace.

 

[Mick-B]

...

Andy did not really need medical intervention - thank goodness - it was empathy he required. He needed time to test his blood, take insulin as necessary and have a cup of coffee and a snack - all these things which we were assured would be easily provided as part of the day for everyone.

Sadly, on most days, it just did not happen - there was never time and no effort made to make time when it was requested. ....

My level of first aid knowledge and training is such as to keep someone alive until I can pass them off to a Life Boat or SAR helicopter - one of the key pieces of knowledge revolves around the effects of conditions such as diabetes, in which connection the importance of maintaining regular refreshment breaks so as to avoid the blood/sugar imbalance pendulum effect. FFS, it's not rocket-science and a 15 minute break every so often does not wreck a properly planned schedule - indeed, it's part of a properly planned daily schedule.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Can't a crate of what they actually do need, be posted to the hospital - bandages etc

 

[Fanum]

Can't a crate of what they actually do need, be posted to the hospital - bandages etc

It all depends on how you view the trip. Is it trying to equip a hospital or an 'Adventure' motorcycling trip ? From what I can recall of our planning meetings your original question has been debated many times; and the answer to "Why not put the stuff in a container?" Has always been "where's the fun in that!"

On a practical note, would you buy a C90, fettle it, then load it on a trailer and wave it goodbye ?

It is worth noting that in between these publicised trips Dennis has also been heavily involved in getting supplies to the hospital by other means.

There are container loads (literally) of stuff going out, organised by the chair of the Kettering round table group who goes out there regularly with Anita. (I can't remember his name but we met him down there)

As Paul points out, if someone came on here and said "send me some paracetamol please, I'm going to post it to the Gambia", it probably wouldn't raise much of a response......."Can anyone help me prepare a C90 for a ride across the Sahara please" instantly perks people's ears up though, and through that, other things start happening.

As for the tractor....I have no idea, and only Anita or someone down there would be able to say if that was a worthwhile project....When we were there, there was a small patch of ground that hey had started growing stuff on for the hospital, and there was an immense amount of pride and hope focussed around it.

I doubt Dennis would have decided to buy a tractor without hearing from Anita that it would be a better use of the money that putting it into another, far more important priority

oooooh......found this, the Gambian 'Hi TEch Incubator"

 

[Paula aka Mrs Humbug]

Mrs Pissed off!

I have just looked at the Scoots Blog from Dennis and saw this:-

It also hasn’t helped matters with me suffering with the worst and most sustained asthma attack of my life which has been leaving me feeling pretty exhausted at the end of each day. Couple that with the stress of having to deal with a whinging willy every moment of every day….. well I’m sure you get the picture. However the other guys (and lady) have been great in the support that they have given, which is probably the only reason that there isn’t a body buried somewhere deep in the Sahara Desert….

If you want to catch up on the real flavour of the trip our youngest (and newest) rider this year Chris Smith has been avidly typing into his smartphone at every available moment as only the young can! Chris has give his blessing for me to copy it over to my blog, or I thought better still you can read it in its entirety at http://critsmit.tumblr.com/ It is very well written and certainly gives a flavour of the trip from a different perspective.

Today (Saturday) Steve and I will be trying to sort the trailer out to make our lives a littler easier on the road back. We will also be popping up to the local supermarket for some food, as whilst we still have a huge amount on board I think if either of us has to face another 5 bean chilli or curry we may well scream… in fact I don’t think I will ever be able to look a chilli in the eye again!!!![/I]

We tried our best - we really did - clearly in Dennis' eyes failed - I am so angry - nothing in Dennis' eyes is good enough.

Andy is still really struggling to get his sugar levels back to something near normal - what can I say? Had enough - you bet - the biggest mistake of our lives.

 

[Phil Reynolds]

Paula,

I don't understand this scenario I went with four friends on a ride - albeit exploring a bit of Europe and not as far as Africa..!! and one of the gang has the same medical condition as your Andy does. It was fully explained to us beforehand that we would need to make frequent stops for them to administer injections and stuff and we would HAVE to eat when that person HAD to. We fully understood and went along with their requirements even though it wasn't convenient for the rest of us but we did it because we wanted that person to come and enjoy the trip with us. It all worked out fine for us and I am sorry that it appears not to have worked out for Andy after all that time, effort and expense.

Don't be pissed off. Rise above it - move on: Andy has achieved something most of us will only dream about never mind doing it.