More than 25 years ago, David Hamed Halabi was struggling to breathe—and struggling to find answers.
“Church Health gave me my life back.” — David Halabi
He had visited six or seven doctors, received multiple medications and even required weekly trips to the emergency room. Still, no one could explain why his respiratory problems kept returning.
“I was in pain. I couldn’t sleep, and sometimes I couldn’t eat,” David recalls. “When you have a health problem like that, you cannot work. You cannot focus. Your whole life stops.”
David makes his living as a consultant and marketer. Like so many people, he needed to stay healthy so he could work, support himself and care for his family. But without the right diagnosis, returning to normal life seemed increasingly out of reach.
Then he came to Church Health.
David met with Dr. Susan Nelson, who took the time to listen carefully as he described his symptoms, previous treatments and repeated emergency room visits. That conversation led to the answer he had been seeking: acid reflux was triggering inflammation in his respiratory system and worsening his asthma.
“When you find the reason, you can find the treatment,” David says.
Dr. Nelson prescribed medication to address the underlying problem. Within one week, David noticed a dramatic improvement.
“My life went back to normal,” he says. “When you have been feeling so much pain and then receive the right treatment, you feel like you have come back to life.”
For David, the experience demonstrated the importance of being seen as a whole person. He found physicians who did more than treat his symptoms—they listened to his story, looked for the root cause and gave him confidence in his care.
“Church Health looks at every part of life.” — David Halabi
“At Church Health, the doctors sit and talk with you,” he says. “They treat you like family.”
Over the years, David has turned to Church Health for a wide range of services, including dental and eye care and sinus surgery. Each experience has only strengthened his trust in the organization and its staff.
“Everyone at Church Health has done an amazing job,” he says. “They are experienced, professional and know exactly what they are doing. I trust them 100 percent.”
David has really come to value Church Health’s commitment to caring for every dimension of a person’s well-being. He points to the dietary education offered in the Church Health Nutrition Hub as one example of how patients receive guidance that extends beyond the exam room.
“They teach you how to choose good food and take care of your nutrition,” he says. “Church Health looks at every part of life.”
Once David experienced that care for himself, he wanted others to benefit from it, too. He began telling friends, clients and others in his community about Church Health and encouraging those who qualified to enroll in the MEMPHIS Plan.
“When something makes such a big difference in your life, you want to share it with your friends, your family—with everyone,” he says.
Today, David remains deeply grateful for the care that restored his health and allowed him to keep moving forward. He also understands that his story was made possible by people he may never meet: the donors whose generosity helps Church Health care for patients every day.
For someone who is sick, that generosity can mean relief from pain, the ability to return to work and the freedom to care for a family. For David, it meant finally receiving an answer after years of uncertainty.
“My life is totally different,” he says. I thank every single person who makes that possible.”