Doctor Leech

This is about the fraudulent medical practice of Faisal M. Ismail (فيصل م. اسماعيل).

After unsuccessfully obtaining a cure in Alexandria for my deteriorating skin condition.  I decided that I needed to get home as soon as possible.  However, the pain was too much and I could not think of anything else.  I was suppose to fly after a week, but I started to think that I’d not survive another day.

By this time, I had already met my Jordanian friend, but he had been slow to do anything, (which I should have taken as a bad omen).

So I contacted a Saudi friend, whom I previously met at the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Knowledge Centre (مركز طلال أبوغزاله للمعرفة), to ask where I could get a second opinion.  It turned out that my friend was still in Jordan, but in another town (I’d been wrongly informed by an idiot that she had left the country) and she recommended a private doctor, Dr Faisal Ismail, near Sport city.

I asked about the hospital down the road, but she said that they were crooks.  In fact, she had already spoken to the Faisal Ismail and advised me to call immediately.  So I did…

Faisal Ismail told me to come down that very night and when I arrived he asked me to take my shoes off, which I happily did except that by doing so was also very painful.  In person he was a lot more friendlier than on the phone.  He sounded like a man of experience and he talked about a great many things (medical and non-medical); I also learned that he was married with at least one son.

When he returned to the operating room, upon seeing my condition, he immediately gasped and said ‘Have you been bitten by insects!?!’

Soon later he had done his work and the pain was finally gone.  The areas were bandaged and he applied various inoculations.  Then he scolded me…

..”This is what happens when you choose a cheap country in order to save money”.  I was a little confused with that statement.  I had chosen Egypt for the quality of teaching and not the price.

Of-course I was grateful (and possibly too much) for fixing me up.  The price he asked for sounded great too.

Unfortunately, he spoiled his good work by continuing to speak ill of Egypt.   He claimed that, due to the food being unsafe in Egypt, he always gave vaccination to his patients.  I had visited Jordan before and knew that the food in the restaurants was also of low quality (actually a lot worse).   He also claimed that the hotels were unhygienic and that he had once refused to travel to Egypt to treat somebody even when the hotel was paid for.  On one hand, since he was a medical professional, thought I should listen to him.  On the other hand, I just wanted him to shut-up.  However, what was to follow was even worse.

After my first follow-up examination, he told me my recovery was good, but that I needed several more check-ups, which meant I would not be able to fly home as originally scheduled.

One year later, I could not help wonder whether the check-ups were just a way to increase his income.  He often talked about charity (as well the subject of marriage) and now I know how he funded that.

My Saudi friend mentioned how the doctor did not charge so much (and for her female friends).  However, when I added up all the costs, I did not see much of a discount.

I really started to suspect something when a nurse, who was my language partner from the Ali Baba library, believed I did not need so many check-ups.

Worse than that, crossing paths with him also affected my long term plans.  I delayed flying home and he advised me not to return to Egypt.

Doctor knows best I suppose.

Author: Arabian Misadventurer

Just wanted to learn Arabic View all posts by Arabian Misadventurer