UAE: 5 strangers fly to US to lift spirits of 'lonely' preacher with rare cancer

An Emirati preacher is grateful to have the company of five total strangers who accompanied him to the US for surgery as he battles a rare cancer. Dr Wassem Yousef, a former imam at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and a well-known TV personality, was recently diagnosed with sarcoma — cancer that develops in the bones and soft tissues.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, the preacher said his family could not travel with him to Houston, Texas, due to visa processing delays.

Forced to travel alone, Dr Yousef detailed his ordeal during a live-stream session on social media. Much to his surprise, a group of Emiratis he "didn't know in any way, shape or form", contacted him and said they would accompany him to Houston.

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“Immediately after the session, I got a message from one of the five youngsters, who told me they had booked their flight tickets (to accompany me). I was shocked and tried talking him out of it, but he didn’t budge. I didn’t know him or any of the other youth. It was a moment of pure happiness, which made me cry. My family’s visa couldn’t be processed at that time, so I was extremely lonely. Ahmed, Jamal, Hamad and the other two couldn’t have been kinder during such a time,” he said.

Talking about his illness, Dr Yousef said he first went to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with lipoma. He then went to the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Hospital for a second opinion, where was told he had sarcoma cancer. “I felt it was the end of my life, and I was shattered, but then I accepted it as God’s fate.”

The Abu Dhabi government reportedly told him to get treated abroad. He applied for a US visa but did not hear back for two weeks. He was notified that his US visa was processed when he was travelling in Germany. He then travelled to Houston.

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