John Abou-Samra, a tourist who traveled to the Philippines to see the beautiful islands in Palawan last June, gave back to the hospital who helped him after his injury.
John Abou-Samra / Photo credit to the owner
An unfortunate accident happened to him while exploring the Kayangan Lake in Coron Town.
He obtained a painful injury after a couple of wooden slats gave way and one of his legs plunged down to his hip.
Locals who saw him quickly helped to pull him up and gave him first aid.
John Abou-Samra / Photo credit to the owner
John Abou-Samra / Photo credit to the owner
“I asked someone to take a picture of me, and then after she took picture, I moved to this side to sit down. While I moved, two of this wood, they split, and my right leg sank between them up to my hip. Until now I still have the pain,” he said in an interview.
Just when he thought that everything would be okay the day after the accident, wounds started to worsen so he decided to ask for a medical treatment.
Just when he thought that everything would be okay the day after the accident, wounds started to worsen so he decided to ask for a medical treatment.
Dr. Edgar Flores, the attending physician quickly checked his condition and gave him some advice on how to treat his injuries.
John Abou-Samra / Photo credit to the owner
"Two nurses took care of me the way I could not imagine, plus in the half an hour I stayed in the hospital, I heard the word 'sir' more than 25 times. Even when I was wearing something very casual; I looked like a homeless person, they never stopped calling me sir," Samra said.
While he was in the hospital, the tourist saw the bad condition of the building. Medical machineries were lacking, and supplies were insufficient or non-existent.
So to give back to the people who helped him, Samra decided to cancel his dream cruise tour, and donated instead some of his money to the medical hospital that took care of him.
Samra, a bus driver in his country, is known to be a consistent contributor in his community and a supporter of food banks.
According to news reports, Samra donated 1.2-M worth of medical equipment to the medical hospital, several days before his retirement from Coast Mountain Bus Company.
He donated ECG machine, oxygen gauge, stethoscopes, a centrifuge and, a defibrillator which he believes the hospital lacks.
In exchange of this good deed, he cancelled his 100 day cruise tour.
A filipino friend helped him to coordinate with the consulate in Vancouver to transport the equipment to Coron.
Despite of his cancelled plans, Abou-Samra said that his vacation isn’t important; what really matters is the help he gave to the medical center that can save more lives.
“If you give them the means, they can work miracles,” Abou-Samra said.
“I like to make a difference,” he added.
Last October, new equipment were turned over in Coron District Hospital with Samra personally being there.
People of Coron are blessed for someone who gave back so much for their little deed.
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