Courage To Come Back: Young Adult award recipient is studying medicine to help others displaced by war

His experiences in the health-care system made him want to advocate for others. Now, he is studying to be a medical doctor. Omar Bseiso of Vancouver is the 2025 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Young Adult category.

Bseiso was raised by a single mother, displaced by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and forced to flee to Syria as a refugee.

“In Kuwait, she was a dentist. In Canada, that education was not recognized. She couldn’t find suitable employment for the most part, and we struggled financially,” he said.

“I did experience poverty. I did live in impoverished communities, and that meant basically a lot of the people around me had their own challenges.”

On top of that, Bseiso had medical challenges, including asthma and a congenitally short Achilles tendon that left him in a wheelchair for a time, and even forced him to take a year off from elementary school.  

There was also bullying and an attempted sexual assault. But he wasn’t about to let these setbacks stand in his way for long.

“I find that when you experience these things firsthand, you understand that they don’t have to define you, and when you understand that they don’t have to define you, and you can have power over them … they can actually serve as a fuel and a driving force to make a real change and a genuine difference.”

He spent his younger years in and out of the hospital, where he would advocate for fellow patients. 

“For instance, as a patient advisor, I was able to use a lot of that pain and trauma as a force for good, as opposed to something that was pushing me down.”

Today, he is at UBC, studying to be a doctor, to be able to continue his advocacy. Bseiso’s dream is to work with Doctors Without Borders, helping those displaced by war, like his mother was, and make a difference for those who don’t have access to proper health care, medical supplies, or support.

Bseiso refuses to be defined by his past experiences.

“You’re defined by who you are on any given day and the choices that you make … and it’s those choices that are going to pave the way for the rest of your life and for your future.”

1130 NewsRadio is a proud sponsor of the 2025 Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards, which are being handed out Wednesday evening at the Vancouver Convention Centre.