(CBS-DETROIT) -Dr. Ammar Ghanem spent his first full day in West Bloomfield, at home, with the people he loves most.
Ghanem spent almost three weeks in Gazaa few days longer than expected.
“I was on a team that focused on trauma and critical care care, and I felt like I could probably make a difference,” said Ghanem, who sat next to his wife Amnah Allboani Ghanem. They both spoke to CBS News Detroit after Ammar was stuck in Gaza following a medical mission where he and several other doctors from around the world volunteered their time.
Ghanem said it would be a two-week trip, from May 1 to 13, and that tensions began to rise just days before he was due to leave.
“We are starting to hear that Israel has taken over the Rafah intersection, the intersection from which we enter, and we are starting to worry about our ability to leave because there is no other exit point. The WHO tried to call us down and tell us, okay, we’ll make sure you get a new exit every day, but that didn’t happen,” Ghanem said.
He said he spent nearly three weeks in the Middle East before reuniting with his family on May 18.
“I thought I was dreaming,” said his wife Amnah. “It wasn’t easy at all. The moment I saw him, I just started crying,” she said when her husband came home.
Ghanem said his wife and other loved ones were waiting for him at home when he returned to Michigan. His three children, including those from the Ghanem area, greeted him at the airport.
“I felt they matured in the last three weeks,” Ghanem said of his two sons and daughter. “A lot more because they’ve started taking more responsibility. What’s going on with Dad? What’s going on in the Middle East and other places? They loved what I did and they’re so proud of me” , Ghanem said.
“Every day the war continues, we lose hundreds more civilians. And then I felt that I was responsible for expressing their need and expressing their request to stop this war as quickly as possible. That’s why I do it. From day one I know it is time-consuming; I need some time to recover, but I have to continue with this,” Ghanem told CBS News Detroit when asked why he chose to speak to the local news so soon after his experience in Gaza. .
