Latest news with #HEALPalestine
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Injured teen from Gaza gets medical treatment in Bay Area
The Brief 19 year old from Gaza brought to Bay Area for medical treatment Amputee injured in airstrike in October 2023 Humanitarian organization provides healthcare to injured Palestinian children SAN JOSE, Calif. - A 19-year-old amputee from Gaza is completing a round of treatments after she suffered multiple serious injuries during a bombing in October 2023. Farah Ammar was brought to the Bay Area for medical care by humanitarian organization HEAL Palestine. On Tuesday, she received a prosthetic eye. It was an emotional moment marking the end of a number of surgeries and treatments. The backstory After the October 7, 2023, attack in Gaza, Ammar and her family were evacuated to a home with other families seeking shelter. On October 16, she was injured during an airstrike on the shelter her family was staying in. "I lost my eye, and my leg, and broke my hand," said Ammar. "All she saw is her leg, just like a thread holding her leg," said Suha Khatib, who is hosting her family in the United States. Khatib, translating for Ammar, said she arrived in December, refusing to use a wheelchair as she walked off the plane at SFO, despite her amputated leg. HEAL Palestine is a nonprofit that brings children from Gaza to the U.S. to receive medical treatment through volunteer providers. How it works Injured children get a medical visa and are brought to medical appointments by their host families. In Ammar's case, Khatib also hosted her mother and sister, while the rest of her family stayed safe in Egypt. There are currently 35 children from Gaza across the country receiving treatment through HEAL Palestine. "There are thousands of children in Gaza that need medical treatment that can't receive it," said HEAL Palestine volunteer Talha Baqar. "Us helping Farah is a drop in the bucket." Over the last few months, Ammar received a prosthetic leg, a surgery for her hand, and a prosthetic eye, from doctors in the Bay Area. Doctors like ocularist and prosthetist Raymond Rendon in San Jose volunteer to provide medical care, free of charge. "It helps to restore her psychological well-being, helps her to feel normal, and because of that it has therapeutic value, it's not just cosmetic," said Rendon, who has worked with HEAL Palestine in the past. "We kind of forget they're just normal kids. Before this war they lived normal lives," said Baqar. As Ammar looked in the mirror, she said she was inching closer to normal now. "She realized that she has two eyes so she can actually put make up again," said Khatib, translating for Ammar. What's next Ammar's doctors will continue to keep an eye on her recovery until she returns home to be reunited with the rest of her family later this summer. The Source HEAL Palestine
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hundreds of injured Gaza children arrive in Chicago for life-saving treatment
The Brief Hundreds of injured children from Gaza arrived at O'Hare on Sunday to receive life-saving medical treatment, thanks to HEAL Palestine. The children, who were flown from Egypt, will stay with host families in Chicago while undergoing surgeries, with support from local hospitals and the Palestinian community. HEAL Palestine is seeking volunteers to assist with the children's recovery, which could take years due to physical and psychological trauma. CHICAGO - A heart-wrenching scene unfolded Sunday at O'Hare International Airport as hundreds of children, severely injured in the ongoing Gaza conflict, arrived in Chicago to receive urgent medical care. What we know The children, who were flown in from Egypt, will stay with host families while undergoing a wide range of surgical procedures. Their journey was made possible by HEAL Palestine, a nonprofit organization that partners with Chicago's top hospitals and treatment centers, along with the city's supportive Palestinian community. "Coming here and staying with a community that has the same culture, language, food, religion helps a lot for the adjustment phase so they can begin a very successful period of treatment," said Co-founder of HEAL Palestine, Steve Sosebee. It's estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 children in Gaza have lost limbs due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Among them is Khaleel, who lost both of his legs but remains strong, supported by his faith and his family. "His faith and the love and support he gets from his family," an interpreter said on behalf of Khaleel. Some of the children who arrived in Chicago have lost not only their limbs but their families as well. For HEAL Palestine, the welcome at O'Hare is just the beginning of a long recovery process. "Often this takes years to give these kids an opportunity to truly recover what they've gone through the loss of limbs, the loss of family members, the psychological trauma. We're committed to these kids for the long term and we try to develop these very strong personal connections so they know they're not alone," said Sosebee. What you can do HEAL Palestine is looking for volunteers to assist with the children's care. If you'd like more information, visit their website here.
CBS News
22-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Palestinian teen awaits prosthetic leg in Colorado after losing leg in Israeli bombing of Gaza
Abdal Aziz, who came to Colorado just one month ago, hasn't had a whole lot of time to explore the state because he's been waiting for his prosthetic leg. He says his February has been pretty slow. "He spends a lot of time indoors alone here," a translator for Aziz said. He's in Colorado Springs waiting for a prosthetic leg, but it's not quite ready yet. "It was supposed to be last Tuesday, but unfortunately, they told him that they still have some work to do," Aziz said through a translator. He lost his leg in the Israel-Hamas war. He says he feels incredibly lucky to get away from the devastation in Gaza. "There is no schools, there's no mosques. Some places, there's no food. There's a lot of people in Gaza who are injured," he said. Dr. Mohamed Kuziez isn't treating Aziz, but he just returned to Colorado from Gaza where he was treating children impacted by the war. He says he's never seen so many children amputees. "A lot of them have come up with nontraditional prosthetics using, you know, different joints that they can get or different pieces of metal and wood to make something that works," Kuziez said. "It makes me keenly aware of the privilege and the resources that we have." Aziz is in Colorado thanks to HEAL Palestine. Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which Kuziez works with, has also sent children to Colorado to get medical treatment. Kuziez says these programs change lives. "It gives them a chance at a future," he said. It certainly has given Aziz hope. He wants to finish his education once he gets his new leg so he may one day live his dream of driving a car. "Inshallah. Inshallah. Hopefully," Aziz said. He'll be in Colorado until the spring or summer and says the one thing he wants to do while he's here is to ride a horse because, before the war, he had a horse that he liked to ride all the time back in Gaza.
