Wife of Australian doctor kidnapped by extremists in Africa has been released.

Picture this.

You are 76 years of age. You are an Australian nutritionist who has worked alongside your husband, an Australian medical doctor and aged 81, in a tiny West African village for 43 years.

Together you run the sole surgical clinic in Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest nations, that accommodates about 140 patients. Most of them don’t have beds in your clinic but many of your patients have never slept on a bed so it works.

Your husband is the only surgeon in the region which is home to two million people, and is supported by a small team of local staff working six days a week operating for six hours a day. The needs are unimaginable and the cases are horrific which is why you very rarely take holidays.

Now picture this.

Three weeks ago, on the 15th of January, you were both abducted by Al-Qaeda jihadists. Your home was raided at 4am, you were both dragged from your beds and kidnapped.

It followed an attack on a hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou that left at least 29 people dead, including at least 13 foreigners.

You were held captive for three weeks before being released because Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said women should not be involved in war. You are free.

The circumstances of your release – or where you spent your time in captivity – are unknown but it is believed to be free from any conditions. You were released in Niger which neighbours Burkina Faso.

Your husband is still being held.

Your three children are deeply grateful that you’re safe but are desperately hoping your husband – their father – will be released soon too.

Now in these circumstances, aside from wanting a safe reunion with your husband as soon as possible, what would you want?

A period of time to recover from the trauma and retreat to Australia? A well earned break? Some time by a pool perhaps? After what you’ve endured it could hardly be described as indulgent.

Not Dr Jocelyn Elliot. She admitted she was looking forward to sleeping “in a lovely bed” but her priority is getting back to work.

“I want to be with my husband shortly so that we can go to Djibo and continue there,” she explained in French after her release. “I am very moved to be here with my Burkina family. I want to thank the people of Burkina for their support in my absence.”

At a time where there is no shortage of despair in the news, this snippet from Dr Elliot blew my mind.

This is a couple who have literally devoted their lives to saving the lives of African citizens poorer than we could imagine. They have eschewed an easier road, not it would seem in a bid for martyrdom but because they witnessed a situation they couldn’t not address. They saw a region without medical care, so they stepped in.

They built a hospital brick by brick. Without x-rays, with concrete floors and make-shift stretcher beds, they grew from a clinic that performed one surgery a day to 150 a month. They run the hospital on a shoe string budget and have never appealed for money.

Their work and their passion is truly humbling, even before you contemplate the terrifying ordeal they have endured this year.  Here’s hoping Dr Ken Elliot is released safely soon.

*Featured and social image: Supplied via Karen Gall.