HEALTH

Medical Aid Lets Jameel Enjoy Life Again

Health clinic provides crucial care in remote northern Palestinian town of Ya’bad

Jameel lives in the town of Yabad, in the far north of the Palestinian West Bank. Today he is at the Patients' Friends Society Clinic, an Anera partner for medical aid, for a follow-up appointment with his doctor. Jameel is in a good mood. He says his health has improved since his last visit when he was given a prescription.

His life is much more enjoyable now that he can eat his favorite food and take a sip of coffee without stomach pain.

Jameel had first come to the clinic with stomach bloating and unbearable pain. Heartburn has plagued him for years. He had tried restricting his diet to try to control the pain but with limited success.

Jameel is once again enjoying his coffee.

“You can’t imagine how many sleepless nights I had to endure, and how much time and money I spent trying different medicines and paying for doctors, before coming here to consult with the doctor.”

“I saw many doctors who prescribed me different medications, but they were never effective,” he says. Only when Jameel visited the Patients' Friends Society Clinic, was he prescribed lansoprazole. The medicine reduces stomach acid and is used to treat indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux, stomach ulcers and gastroesophageal-reflux-disease.

He responded very well to the new medication. He says,

“As soon as I got the medicine, my pain started to go away.”

Like many in his town, he lives on a very modest daily wage and paying for medical care is often a heavy burden. Fortunately, Jameel can pick up his ulcer medication for free at the town clinic. The clinic is able to provide the medicine to patients like Jameel at no cost thanks to a recent donated shipment from Americares distributed by Anera’s medical donations program.

Foad Kilanin, a physician at the Patients' Friends Society Clinic, meets with Jameel for his follow-up appointment.

Now that he is taking lansoprazole, Jameel is finally getting relief from his heartburn.

Thanks to a generous medical donation by Americares, Anera recently delivered a shipment of 56,000 tablets of lansoprazole 30mg to health facilities across the West Bank, including 15,000 tablets for the Patients' Friends Society Clinic.