Lucille Teasdale-Corti
Encyclopedia
Lucille Teasdale-Corti, (January 30, 1929 – August 1, 1996) was a Canadian
physician, surgeon and international aid worker, who worked in Uganda
and contributed to the development of medical services in the country.
on 30 January 1929, Lucille Teasdale was the fourth of seven children. Her father René ran a grocery in Avenue Guybourg, Saint-Léonard, Montreal.
She was educated as a boarder
at Collège Jésus-Marie d'Outrement, a select Catholic
college by nun
s whose methods she thought to be very strict. A visit to the college by some nuns who had worked as missionaries
in China
acted as a catalyst for her, then aged 12, to consider becoming a doctor, this coming on top of voluntary work which she had done in a clinic serving the disadvantaged people of the Plateau Mont-Royal from which she had gained a conviction that the worst injustic was disease and that she could do something about it.
She won a scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Montreal, starting in 1950. Females were not common in the medical profession at that time and her class of 110 students included only eight women. She graduated in 1955, becoming one of the first female surgeons in Quebec
, and took work at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine
, Montreal.
It was at this time, while working in the pediatric department, that she first met the Italian
doctor, Piero Corti
. He was working at the hospital to obtain a specialist qualification in pediatrics, to add to those in radiology
and neuropsychiatry
which he already had. Corti showed an interest in her but Teasdale was concentrating on her job, working up to 16 hours a day and sometimes fainting in the operating theater as a consequence.
A condition of completing her postgraduate training was that she must agree to work for a period of time in a hospital abroad. Teasdale tried obtain work in the USA but 20 hospitals turned her down. She later said that this was "probably because I was a woman".
to work at the l'Hôpital de la Conception in Marseille
, Although she lacked confidence in her own abilities she was highly regarded by staff members there. She had been unhappy with the Canadian healthcare system which, to her, appeared to be an immoral one because it had both private and public sectors, and patients in the private sector obtained better treatment. She thought indeed that medicine was so interesting that doctors should pay for the honour of practising it.
It was while working in Marseilles that Corti approached her: he needed a surgeon at a small clinic which had been established in Uganda
and to which he had recently been invited and had hopes of turning into a hospital. The clinic was located in a small village of the Acoli tribe, 11 kilometre from Gulu
(2.776154°N 32.252026°W) It was run by a staff of six Combonian
nuns and consisted of an outpatients section and around 40 maternity beds. She agreed to go with Corti, initially for a period of two months, and arrived in May 1961. On 10 June 1961 she performed her first operation, on a makeshift table, and thereafter spent mornings treating outpatients and afternoons in theater.
Facilities improved as Corti spent his time soliciting donations from abroad. The clinic was renamed Lacor Hospital, after the nearby town, and Teasdale returned to France after extending her stay from two months to four.
She returned in December 1961, finding herself unable to be separated from Corti. They were married in the hospital chapel on 5 December and on 17 November 1962 she gave birth to their daughter Dominique. At this time Teasdale was seeing around 300 outpatients each morning and then performing operations in the afternoon, in conditions which were poor due to, amongst other things, a fluctuating supply of electricity, shortage of suitable medication and the poor quality of the water supplied.
She also spent time educating Acoli mothers who were uninformed about medical science and were utilising the traditional practice of ebino, the extraction of infants' canine tooth buds, which supposedly cures disease, but in fact often causes bacterial infections.
Uganda, a British protectorate
, gained independence on 9 October 1962. Years of civil unrest and then outright civil war
followed, involving the supporters of the dictator
s Amin Dada (1971–1978), Milton Obote
(1979–1985) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (1986–2006), as well as an invasion by Tanzania
n troops. By the end of Amin's period in power there had been an estimated 300,000 victims. The hospital received its share of the wounded and the dying, causing Teasdale-Corti to become a war surgeon and increasing her workload further. The hospital not merely dealt with the casualties but also suffered from looting and the kidnap of staff members. During this time Teasdale continued to expand her abilities and expertise and, in 1979, performed her first bone graft, this being on a wounded soldier in an attempt to avoid the alternative of amputation
,.
In 1972 she and her husband established a school of nursing at the hospital to train local people; from 1982 she ran a program at Makerere University
, Kampala
for the training of surgical residents and also arranged the work preparation of Italian doctors intending to work in Africa.
and by Anthony Pinching (an immunologist) in London
, was that she was suffering from AIDS
, probably as a consequence of operating on a victim of the civil war.
She suffered the consequences of the illness for a further eleven years, with trips to San Raffaele Hospital
in Milan
in order to receive treatment for herself. She died on 1 August 1996, weighing 33 kg, in Besana in Brianza
, Italy, to which she had recently moved in search of treatment for herself. A copy of what is believed to be her last letter exists and describes the situation of both the hospital and herself at the time. Her body was returned to Uganda and interred in the grounds of the hospital. A few months after her death Corti had his fourth heart attack; and he eventually died seven years later, of pancreatic cancer
. He had continued working at the hospital, had conducted research into AIDS with Dr J W Carswell, and was buried next to his wife.
In 1993, three years before her death she and her husband had established the Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti Foundation in Montreal, followed two years later by a similar body based in Milan. These were intended to ensure the continued existence of the hospital. By that time she had performed more than 13,000 operations and the hospital had grown to have 465 beds and departments covering numerous specialities. As at 2011 Dominique, the couple's daughter and herself a doctor of medicine, continues to run the Foundations.
A TV movie of the story was made in 2000.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
physician, surgeon and international aid worker, who worked in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and contributed to the development of medical services in the country.
Early life in Canada
Born in Montreal East, QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
on 30 January 1929, Lucille Teasdale was the fourth of seven children. Her father René ran a grocery in Avenue Guybourg, Saint-Léonard, Montreal.
She was educated as a boarder
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
at Collège Jésus-Marie d'Outrement, a select Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
college by nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s whose methods she thought to be very strict. A visit to the college by some nuns who had worked as missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
acted as a catalyst for her, then aged 12, to consider becoming a doctor, this coming on top of voluntary work which she had done in a clinic serving the disadvantaged people of the Plateau Mont-Royal from which she had gained a conviction that the worst injustic was disease and that she could do something about it.
She won a scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Montreal, starting in 1950. Females were not common in the medical profession at that time and her class of 110 students included only eight women. She graduated in 1955, becoming one of the first female surgeons in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and took work at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine
Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine
The Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine is a pediatric university health centre affiliated with the Université de Montréal, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
, Montreal.
It was at this time, while working in the pediatric department, that she first met the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
doctor, Piero Corti
Piero Corti
Piero Corti , was an Italian doctor who chose to work in a hospital in Uganda most of his lifetime.-Childhood between war and illnesses:...
. He was working at the hospital to obtain a specialist qualification in pediatrics, to add to those in radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
and neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. It preceded the current disciplines of psychiatry and neurology, in as much as psychiatrists and neurologists had a common training....
which he already had. Corti showed an interest in her but Teasdale was concentrating on her job, working up to 16 hours a day and sometimes fainting in the operating theater as a consequence.
A condition of completing her postgraduate training was that she must agree to work for a period of time in a hospital abroad. Teasdale tried obtain work in the USA but 20 hospitals turned her down. She later said that this was "probably because I was a woman".
France and Uganda
In September 1960 Lucille travelled to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to work at the l'Hôpital de la Conception in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Although she lacked confidence in her own abilities she was highly regarded by staff members there. She had been unhappy with the Canadian healthcare system which, to her, appeared to be an immoral one because it had both private and public sectors, and patients in the private sector obtained better treatment. She thought indeed that medicine was so interesting that doctors should pay for the honour of practising it.
It was while working in Marseilles that Corti approached her: he needed a surgeon at a small clinic which had been established in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and to which he had recently been invited and had hopes of turning into a hospital. The clinic was located in a small village of the Acoli tribe, 11 kilometre from Gulu
Gulu
Gulu is a city in Northern Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The city is located at 2˚46'48N 32˚18'00E, on the metre gauge railway from Tororo to Pakwach. Gulu is located approximately , by road, north of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city...
(2.776154°N 32.252026°W) It was run by a staff of six Combonian
Daniel Comboni
Daniel Comboni was a Roman Catholic missionary and Saint.-Early life:He was born at Limone sul Garda, Brescia, Italy, into a family of cultivators employed by one of the rich local proprietors...
nuns and consisted of an outpatients section and around 40 maternity beds. She agreed to go with Corti, initially for a period of two months, and arrived in May 1961. On 10 June 1961 she performed her first operation, on a makeshift table, and thereafter spent mornings treating outpatients and afternoons in theater.
Facilities improved as Corti spent his time soliciting donations from abroad. The clinic was renamed Lacor Hospital, after the nearby town, and Teasdale returned to France after extending her stay from two months to four.
She returned in December 1961, finding herself unable to be separated from Corti. They were married in the hospital chapel on 5 December and on 17 November 1962 she gave birth to their daughter Dominique. At this time Teasdale was seeing around 300 outpatients each morning and then performing operations in the afternoon, in conditions which were poor due to, amongst other things, a fluctuating supply of electricity, shortage of suitable medication and the poor quality of the water supplied.
She also spent time educating Acoli mothers who were uninformed about medical science and were utilising the traditional practice of ebino, the extraction of infants' canine tooth buds, which supposedly cures disease, but in fact often causes bacterial infections.
Uganda, a British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
, gained independence on 9 October 1962. Years of civil unrest and then outright civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
followed, involving the supporters of the dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
s Amin Dada (1971–1978), Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
(1979–1985) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (1986–2006), as well as an invasion by Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
n troops. By the end of Amin's period in power there had been an estimated 300,000 victims. The hospital received its share of the wounded and the dying, causing Teasdale-Corti to become a war surgeon and increasing her workload further. The hospital not merely dealt with the casualties but also suffered from looting and the kidnap of staff members. During this time Teasdale continued to expand her abilities and expertise and, in 1979, performed her first bone graft, this being on a wounded soldier in an attempt to avoid the alternative of amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
,.
In 1972 she and her husband established a school of nursing at the hospital to train local people; from 1982 she ran a program at Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
, Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
for the training of surgical residents and also arranged the work preparation of Italian doctors intending to work in Africa.
Illness
Teasdale-Corti had prided herself on her stamina, working extremely long hours in difficult circumstances. When her health began to deteriorate and her ability to sustain a heavy workload was consequently reduced, she sought medical advice for herself. The diagnosis, which is variously said to have been made in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and by Anthony Pinching (an immunologist) in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, was that she was suffering from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, probably as a consequence of operating on a victim of the civil war.
She suffered the consequences of the illness for a further eleven years, with trips to San Raffaele Hospital
San Raffaele Hospital
The San Raffaele Hospital is a university hospital situated in Milan, Italy.It was founded in 1969 by don Luigi Maria Verzé, president of "San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation"....
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in order to receive treatment for herself. She died on 1 August 1996, weighing 33 kg, in Besana in Brianza
Besana in Brianza
Besana in Brianza is a town and comune in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree of February 16, 1971.-Famous citizens:* Don Carlo Gnocchi , blessed...
, Italy, to which she had recently moved in search of treatment for herself. A copy of what is believed to be her last letter exists and describes the situation of both the hospital and herself at the time. Her body was returned to Uganda and interred in the grounds of the hospital. A few months after her death Corti had his fourth heart attack; and he eventually died seven years later, of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
. He had continued working at the hospital, had conducted research into AIDS with Dr J W Carswell, and was buried next to his wife.
In 1993, three years before her death she and her husband had established the Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti Foundation in Montreal, followed two years later by a similar body based in Milan. These were intended to ensure the continued existence of the hospital. By that time she had performed more than 13,000 operations and the hospital had grown to have 465 beds and departments covering numerous specialities. As at 2011 Dominique, the couple's daughter and herself a doctor of medicine, continues to run the Foundations.
A TV movie of the story was made in 2000.
Honours and recognition
- In 1986, she and her husband were awarded the World Health OrganizationWorld Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
's Sasakawa Health Prize, "given to one or more persons, institutions or non-governmental organizations having accomplished outstanding innovative work in health development, in order to encourage the further development of such work". - In 1991 she was made a Member of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. - In 1995 she was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of QuebecNational Order of QuebecThe National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
. - In 1996 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Montreal.
- In 1999 Parc Lucille-Teasdale in Montreal was named in her honour. (45.2959°N 73.3559°W)
- In 2000 Canada PostCanada PostCanada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
issued a 46 cent stamp in her honour. - In 2001 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of FameCanadian Medical Hall of FameThe Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has a museum in London, Ontario, and has an annual induction ceremony.-2012:*Terry Fox*John...
. - In 2001 Lucille-Teasdale secondary school in Blainville, QuebecBlainville, QuebecBlainville is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec and is located northwest of downtown Montreal.The idyllic setting and small town environment makes for a sharp contrast with the booming urban centre next door. Blainville sits right at the foot of the Laurentians, an ancient...
was built and it has been named in her honour. (45.72085°N 73.897018°W) - There is a CSSS (Centre de Santé et de Services Sociaux - Health and Social Service Center) named after her in Montreal (45.569159°N 73.577042°W) and also a road, Boulevard Lucille Teasdale. (45.725485°N 73.511245°W)
- She also received awards from the Accademia Nazionale de Lincei and the International Medical Women's Association.
- The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of CanadaRoyal College of Physicians and Surgeons of CanadaThe Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada ' , French: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada, is a national, private, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada...
give an award named after her and Piero Corti for Canadian physicians "who, while providing health care or emergency medical services, go beyond the accepted norms of routine practice, which may include exposure to personal risk. The recipient's action will exemplify altruism and integrity, courage and perseverance in the alleviation of human suffering.for Canadian physicians who go beyond the accepted norms of routine practice to exemplify altruism and integrity, courage and perseverance in the alleviation of human suffering".
External links
- Teasdale-Corti Foundation
- in French/English:
- in Italian/English: