An elderly lady phoned the hospital and asked if it was possible to find out how a patient was doing. She gave the patient’s name and 302 as the hospital room number.
The nurse who answered the call went to check on the patient and informed the elderly woman that the patient she was asking about was doing well, her blood pressure was fine, her blood work came back as normal and she was scheduled to be discharged in two days time.
“Thank you!.” the elderly woman replied. “That’s wonderful news. I was so worried!”
“You’re welcome,” the nurse replied. “Is the patient a close relative of yours?”
The lady replied, “No, I’m the patient in Room 302. But no one tells me anything!”
On a similar note, no one (in the mainstream media) is likely to tell you anything positive about one small nation that gets an enormous amount of negative media attention. Therefore, I will relate to you some good news about Israel.
[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Jan 19 print edition of The Cross Roads.’]
In spite of all the political barriers, Israel is providing care for Palestinian people. One such example is a 13-year-old boy from Gaza Strip who required a kidney transplant.
In spite of receiving medical treatment in Israel, his condition was deteriorating and he only had 20 per cent kidney function.
The only sibling left who could possibly be a donor was a brother who was a student living in Algeria. Algeria does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nevertheless, the hospital in Israel sent a letter to the student’s academic institution, explaining the circumstances, and promising that this student would not miss the upcoming school year.
As a result, the brother was reunited with his family after a long absence. The story had a happy ending, as the operation was a success, with both brothers receiving continued medical care in Israel.
In addition, you aren’t likely to hear about Israel’s huge humanitarian aid to Syria.
During the last four years, Israel has provided medical treatment to Syrians wounded in the war, treating more than 3,000 people in field hospitals on the border and in public hospitals.
But in the last 18 months, the Israeli army has been working on a humanitarian relief operation, providing hundreds of tonnes of food, clothing, medical equipment and treatment.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are also looking after the construction of two clinics in Syria, which will be run by local workers. Israel is providing building materials and medical equipment for these clinics, and an additional clinic is being constructed inside Israel, at an army outpost.
The amount of food sent to Syria has increased from a few dozen tonnes between 2013 and 2016, to 360 tonnes in 2016 to 2017. And that doesn’t include gifts of clothes, baby formula, diapers, medical supplies, diesel fuel and generators.
But there’s more … once a week, mothers with their children are picked up at the border fence, given a bus ride to Israeli hospitals. After being served breakfast, they receive treatment and hospital care.
A Syrian woman who had received treatment said, “They teach us that Israel is the country that hates us the most. We came and saw with our own eyes what they are giving us here.”
But, much like the humorous story about the elderly lady who phoned the hospital, no one in the western world is likely to be told anything about the many Syrian patients being treated in Israel’s hospitals.
[/emember_protected] 
