Mr. A.N, is a Somali young man in his early 20’s, he arrived in Lesvos in 2021, fleeing
Somalia after his father and brother were assassinated by paramilitary forces. His family
had a business, and he has a young wife and some land but he was forced to escape or
he would have been killed too.
Mr. A.N has been attending physical rehabilitation at Earth Medicine facilities in Lesvos,
since February 2022, he had various health issues including TB, after which he
developed, pleural effusion, polyneuropathy that resulted in a complete loss of
sensation in his lower body and rendered him unable to walk or even stand, also
extremely thin and unable to eat due to severe abdominal pains.
Initially, his treatment at Earth Medicine solely consisted of special food made for him to
restore his ability to eat and digest so that his body could start to build the strength
necessary for his recovery. When his digestion was better and he was absorbing
nutrients, physical therapy started to be used to recondition his lower limbs and spine.
Also Acupuncture treatments began.
In March 2022 A.N started using a rollator to stand up, at this stage of his treatment the
patient was experiencing lots of pain at the ankle joint and muscles weaknesses. A
month later he experienced a significant decrease of pain at the ankle joints.
Over the months of physical therapy sessions, he has worked very hard showing he is
determined to fully regain his mobility. During July 2022, he was already standing and
walking very slowly with aid, his feet stuck to the ground as he was unable to lift them at
all. At this stage scalp and body acupuncture treatments were included followed by
sessions with the physiotherapist too.
He made progress every single day and we were all delighted with his spirit and strong
commitment to getting better. After a week of scalp acupuncture and physio, he was
able to lift his knees, started to bend his ankles and lift his feet off the ground, and gave
a few careful steps all without aids. We all nearly shed some tears that day seeing the
effects that the team work at Earth Medicine combined with the hard work and zeal of a
person can produce. Mr A continued making a lot of progress and by ends of July he
was playing basketball and walking without any trouble at all! Today A.N is looking
forward to a bright future even though he must navigate the complex asylum system in
Greece in order to start building a new life in Europe.
We have no doubts A.N will accomplish anything we aspires in life, after all he has
already accomplished a remarkable journey to recover his health, without losing his
dignity, values and integrity.
Earth Medicine team will never forget you dear friend!!!