Sticking my toe back in the water

Thank you all for your replies and heartfelt messages.  I really just wanted to tell you guys why I didn't do a big hair flip on my way out.  I'm sure that whomever that slimey slime ball was that PM'd me knows by now that I wasn't making it up because I've posted several things about my nephew since.  

Just to be clear, my husband, the kids and I were never in Gaza.  My nephew was visiting us here in Morocco for the summer.  He needed to rush back to take some exams and do stuff to register for his 2nd year in Nursing School.  His mother intended to follow a couple of weeks after he left.  The morning we woke up to the horrific events of Oct. 7, I immediately started texting him to get out.  He said it was already too late and the borders closed the next day.  I texted him everyday, even up to the day he was hit.  He stayed in Al Nassar Hospital for about 6 weeks.  We would gather at the family home most days and just watch Al Jazeera for any information.  Some extended family members were able to get videos to us of him.  Our constant worry was how grave his wounds were and of course, infection.  I don't know if any of you recall the day that all of the ambulances were at the Rafah border.  We were told that he was going to be one of the 81 severely wounded to be evacuated out.  The whole family were crying and jumping up and down watching the ambulances cross to the other side.  Unfortunately, later that afternoon, we were told he was NOT included.  It was the head of the hospital that held him back because they were making patients wait for hours at the border before crossing and he knew that my nephew would not survive that trip.  What we didn't know at the time was that he also had a gaping hole in his stomach that ended up taking some of his liver.  His mother went to the Moroccan State Department everyday for weeks pleading for the government to get him out.  In the end, it was a government official that called his mother (here in Morocco) to ask her to confirm that her son was at an air base in Egypt.  We didn't even know that he had been evacuated out!  Another emotional day for the family!

He spent a couple of months in a hospital in Cairo.  My husband and all the brothers went to visit him at various times.  They all came back with the most tragic stories of kids without parents, parents without kids.  His mother never left his side.

Then the Qatari government informed them that they had 2 days notice to gather everything as they were shipping the most wounded to Doha.  I cannot even begin to describe what they have done for him since.  He had a couple more surgeries to correct his only remaining limb (his left arm) that had to be set with pins on the OUTSIDE when he was in Gaza.  They have given him a standard wheelchair, but also an electronic one.  They fitted him for leg prosthetics.  There is a compound there that house the Palestinian refugees.  They are able to go in and out freely, but the control access from the general public so that they aren't photographed.  They've provided schooling and counseling.  The Qatari government has done so much that people don't even know.  My family were able to visit him there.  It was a very emotional moment to say the least.  But one image that will never leave me this side of heaven, is when we were waiting to get security clearance to proceed into the compound.  There were many different aged children playing, kicking soccer balls and chasing each other...but every.single.child. on that playground was missing a limb.  Some were running on crutches, some were hopping around, but that VIVID image of how war effects children is something I will never be able to erase from my memory.  It was difficult to see the adults that were walking around because you could see the toll of the war in their eyes. 

My nephew prior to all of this was just this happy-go-lucky guy that always smiled and laughed and loved good food.  And he is STILL that guy and more!!!!  He continues PT with his prosthetics and learning how to get around with them.  The Qatari government has given him a full scholarship to a university in Doha.  This June he will have completed his first year.  He had absolutely no records from any prior education, so he had to start over.  He plans to go into psychology, specifically helping those affected by war.  He has done interviews for Al Jazeera and spoken at conferences.  They call him the "Miracle of Gaza".  He is my real, life hero.  The pride and awe in his sheer determination leave me speechless.  Not just that, but he still have the smile and laugh that he has always had.  I love that boy (he's actually 21) as if he were my own.

I do appreciate those of you asking about donating.  There have been a couple of groups in the past that we would recommend, but currently, NOTHING is getting in.  And there are new fears that the West Bank is next.  I just don't even know how to direct anyone to help anymore.