This 69-year-old UAE doctor has found his true calling

Dr Amin El Gohary is someone who has seen the human cost of war from close quarters.

The pediatric surgeon at Burjeel Hospital has left the comforts of his air-conditioned consultation room and ventured into the conflict zones in Yemen with just one mission: To save the lives of children trapped in the war-torn country.

Being on the front line of war during his four missions to Yemen between 2015 - 2017, the 69-year old Egyptian doctor has brought hope and life to the most vulnerable patients.

Doctor gearing up for his 5th mission

Dr Amin El Gohary is not backing out anytime soon. He is planning his fifth mission to Yemen in January, and is calling for more doctors from the UAE to help those trapped in war zones.

"The people are really poor, they don't have the facilities, they need the help from professional doctors from all over the world."

Despite objection from his family, the pediatric surgeon believes that it is his duty as a doctor.

"There are strong oppositions from my family, especially my wife. She was crying every night and calling to check if I were safe. But whatever we endured, the reward is greater."

Dr El Gohary along with Dr Ahmad Maasheer, a laparoscopic surgeon and Dr Said Eleslam, a pediatric surgeon, both from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, was recently been to a remote part of South Yemen in April. The doctors operated on as many as 110 children in just less than six days.

"People might consider me crazy to do such a thing, but this is truly a rewarding experience," Dr El Gohary, who has been living in the UAE for the past 32 years, told Khaleej Times.

Dr El Gohary knew the mission was dangerous, however, he also knew that helping children was more important.

"Al Qaeda was there just a few months before us. We witnessed the damages that were inflicted, we witnessed the aftermath and destruction of war.... In a war zone, the word 'safe' is meaningless."

This is not the first time the doctor took part in a charity mission. In fact, he has been on several missions to some of the world's most poverty-stricken areas, including Eritrea and Sudan, where he travelled five times between 2004-2010.

He pointed out that the mission in Yemen all began when Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, the managing director of VPS, brought patients from Yemen to Abu Dhabi.

"Once we accepted the first couple of patients, we then started seeing a lot of requests from families, but it was not practical to transfer a lot of patients from Yemen to here."

Enduring 17-hour journey

Thus, instead of having patients arriving from Yemen to Abu Dhabi, the doctor thought it was best to make his own journey.

Dr El Gohary had a long and enduring 17-hour journey from Abu Dhabi to Qatar, then to Salalah, Oman, before crossing the border of Yemen by a car, before arriving to Al Sheher Hospital in Al Mukalla.

"We were stopped seven times on our way through various checkpoints, but we started operating on the moment of arrival."

The doctors tried to carry out as many operations as possible, and any loss of time for them, meant loss of patients. That meant working vigorously from 7.30am to 8.30pm.

"We were three doctors working on 110 cases in six days, it was remarkable and there was not one single complication."

Dr El Gohary said they had to work with the most basic facilities when it came to medical supplies and instruments, including operating beds and light fixtures.

"We were put in situations were we had to share operating tables and lights. I guess you can call it a luxury to have good lighting."

Dr El Gohary said he remembers one case vividly, where he operated on a five-year-old girl suffering from a rare condition.

"She was treated like an outcast because of her illness that made her pass stool through her vagina. But after the operation, when she was cured, it was an emotional moment when I saw the mother crying. Even I could not hold my tears."

"There is no reward or money in the world that could rival that. Even the risk of losing your life is some times worth enduring, if the outcome means helping a child."

"I benefited the most out of this journey, because it was a noble mission and this is what being a doctor should be all about. It is about giving."

Source: Khaleej Times