{"id":24621,"date":"2017-09-11T10:56:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T10:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=24621"},"modified":"2017-09-11T10:56:54","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T10:56:54","slug":"syria-aleppos-wounds-healing-josue-villalon-acn-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2017\/09\/11\/syria-aleppos-wounds-healing-josue-villalon-acn-international\/","title":{"rendered":"SYRIA &#8211; Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing &#8211; \u00a0Josue Villal\u00f3n \u2013 ACN International"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>SYRIA<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)<\/strong><em> has granted 250,000 euro to <\/em>St. Louis Hospital to improve<em> its medical care. A picture on the wall depicts the word \u201cpeace\u201d \u2013 pieced together using bullet casings picked up off the streets.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Louis Hospital, which is run by the religious order Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, is located in the city district of Ismailia in the western part of Aleppo. It is one of the few medical facilities that was left standing in the northern Syrian metropolis after the bomb attacks in December came to an end. \u201cWe are working day and night, in part for free, to treat those who were wounded during the war and the other sick people,\u201d the medical director of the hospital, Dr. George Theodory, says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The work has steadily increased in the hospital. \u201cWe currently have 55 patients. We have a medical staff of about one hundred people. But there were times when we had more than twice the number of admissions, casualties from the bombings.\u201d However, the surgeries were not accompanied by any budget increases, Dr. Theodory explains. \u201cOur income hardly covers the costs of wages and fuel for the generators. These are essential because there is not enough electricity throughout the city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This is why the hospital turned to the local church through the religious who run it. The hospital asked for help in maintaining the hospital and replacing medical equipment so that it can continue to treat the wounded who are in most dire need. The pontifical foundation <strong><em>Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)<\/em><\/strong> responded by granting the hospital 250,000 euros in funding. This will be used to acquire new endoscopes, a lithotripter for the removal of kidney stones and several UPS (uninterruptible power supply) generators. The generators ensure that these apparatuses and other medical equipment will continue to function even if the power supply were suddenly to be interrupted in the middle of an operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dr. Theodory is assisted by Sister Anne Marie while making his rounds. The trained nurse comes from Canada but has been living in Aleppo for 18 years. \u201cThere are six sisters in our community. We run the hospital. At the beginning of the war, our Reverend Mother gave us the choice of leaving the country, but all of us decided to stay here because it is our job to stand by the sick. And their need for us is greatest now.\u201d She describes how she was deeply moved by the witness of 6-year-old Mahmud, who was born without arms. He was admitted to the hospital after his legs had been torn off by a bomb. \u201cHe survived. I took care of him. He has finally released from the hospital a few months ago. He left with a smile on his face.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The history of the hospital goes back more than one hundred years. Relatives who have come to visit the sick linger in the hallways and stairwells. A picture on the wall depicts the word \u201cpeace\u201d \u2013 pieced together using bullet casings a sister picked up off the streets. \u201cWe also treat the destitute. Even though we are a Catholic hospital, we do not make any distinctions based on religious affiliation. I would estimate that about 70% of our patients are Muslim,\u201d Dr. Theodory explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He is a Christian of Greek descent. When the war started, he and his family emigrated to the United States. Later, however, he returned to Syria because his medical training was not recognized in America. \u201cHere in Aleppo, I was already a doctor. That is why I decided to return, to work together with my colleagues and help the people in this country who are in such desperate need.\u201d He admits that he sometimes was afraid of the war, \u201cbut my faith helped me have hope. I am a Christian and feel obligated to help those who are in need of help. The circumstances are immaterial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The doctor enters a hospital room with four beds. In the first bed, he greets Said Deri, a 17-year-old Muslim suffering from testicular cancer. Sister Anne Marie speaks with him in Arabic. She says that he is a good patient. She has become friends with him. The 50-year-old man in the bed next to Said, Redmond Tarrap, is suffering from a heart condition. His state of health is poor, \u201cbut we are not throwing in the towel yet. He seems to be doing somewhat better these last few days,\u201d the doctor comments. The final patient they greet is Munir Ocean, who is already on his way to recovery. His family has come to visit him. \u201cHe is recuperating here because his spine was severely damaged during one of the last bomb attacks.\u201d Munir smiles when he hears Dr. Theodory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Both Sister Anne Marie and the medical director of Aleppo\u2019s St. Louis Hospital is grateful for the support provided by <strong><em>Aid to the Church in Need<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cWe are very thankful for this generous gesture. If we did not have it, we would not be able to treat any more patients or at least not treat them adequately.\u201d Of all the patients, the Muslims are the most grateful. \u201cThey are impressed that we Christians help them with so much kindness. They say that we have treated them better than any other hospital,\u201d the sister adds. \u201cThe strength to continue working comes only from God. The faith upholds us. We ask all the benefactors to pray for us. Thank you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<h5><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Josue Villal\u00f3n \u2013 ACN International<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SYRIA Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing \u00a0 Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has granted 250,000 euro to St. Louis Hospital to improve its medical care. A picture on the wall depicts the word \u201cpeace\u201d \u2013 pieced together using bullet casings picked up off the streets. St. Louis Hospital, which is run by the religious&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SYRIA - Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing - \u00a0Josue Villal\u00f3n \u2013 ACN International - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2017\/09\/11\/syria-aleppos-wounds-healing-josue-villalon-acn-international\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SYRIA - Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing - \u00a0Josue Villal\u00f3n \u2013 ACN International - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SYRIA Aleppo\u2019s wounds are healing \u00a0 Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has granted 250,000 euro to St. Louis Hospital to improve its medical care. 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