Consultant Pathologist Katie Robertson recently completed a tough five-day trek on foot across the Sahara desert achieving her fundraising target of £1,500 to help provide much needed support for pathology and laboratory services in under-resourced countries.
Her trip was part of the Royal College of Pathologists Global Health Initiatives and Katie was a member of a group which included three pathologists, a retired vascular surgeon, and a professor of molecular medicine.
Katie said: “The trip was amazing from start to finish. My fellow trekkers, our local guide Hussain, Omar our cook, our three camel drivers (and their six camels) as well as Mohammed, our backup 4×4 driver, were great.
“We walked for up to 8 hours a day, stopping only for water and snacks. Once at camp we relaxed, ate like kings and queens, and slept in tents or under the stars.
Surprisingly it rained (a lot) and we had to cope with flash floods and sand storms. But we had a ball.”
On her return, Katie attended the ‘Pathology is Global’ symposium in London which focussed on the role of pathology and laboratory medicine in humanitarian disasters and public health emergencies. Katie reflected: “The meeting gave me real food for thought on how I, as a Consultant Pathologist, working in NHS Forth Valley can contribute to the wider world of global pathology. Watch this space!”
