YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Aurora Prize nominee Dr. Tom Catena, as the sole doctor permanently based in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, home to 750,000 people, told the students of the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) how it is possible to achieve success with limited opportunities, reports Armenpress.

Photos by Gevorg Perkuperkyan

Dr. Tom Catena assured the future doctors that even in case of isolated, limited opportunities, there is no need to be disappointed. “Even without the latest tools and technologies it is possible to treat people. I am working at a place where there are even no nearby settlements. There are 450 beds in our hospital, but sometimes we have to fit several patients in one bed”, he said.

The Aurora Prize nominee presented with photos how he treated soldiers injured in anti-personnel mine explosion, children suffered from bombardment and leprosy patients.

Dr. Tom Catena gave the following advice to the future doctors: sometimes there is no need to interfere, leave the body to be treated and recovered itself.

In the years since war broke out, Dr. Tom Catena – known to locals as Dr. Tom – has worked tirelessly to address the horrors of war. Removing shrapnel, amputating limbs and delivering babies as bombs rain down has become the norm for a man who first came to the region in peacetime, sent by the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB).  

Amid ongoing civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement, Dr. Catena has saved countless lives at the Mother of Mercy Catholic Hospital – the only fully functioning hospital in the region.

By the decision of the YSMU Scientific Council, Tom Catena was awarded with YSMU Honorary Doctor title. Three Armenian doctors will substitute for him in Sudan while he is in Armenia.