SYZYGY: A Heung Coalition Writing Workshop
244 posts
@SyzygyHCW
Writing workshop and sister org to @HeungCoalition. Making kin and community. Publishing Slow Orbit. Tweets by @Justin_Aoba
Freezing cold in Gaza—temperatures dropped to 4°C, with reports of three infants dying so far. Hundreds of thousands are displaced without shelter, blankets, or proper housing. The war may be over, but its aftermath is even harsher. Don't forget Gaza.
This morning, a pediatric patient presented to our hospital in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)—a life-threatening metabolic derangement resulting from severe insulin deficiency, characterized by profound hyperglycemia, metabolic acidosis, and critical electrolyte disturbances, most notably hypokalemia. Standard international guidelines mandate the immediate assessment of arterial blood gases (ABG) and serum electrolytes to accurately evaluate the severity of acidosis and guide appropriate fluid and insulin therapy. Upon requesting an ABG analysis, we were informed by the hospital laboratory that the test was unavailable due to a depletion of essential reagents and supplies. This is the only remaining pediatric hospital in Gaza, following the destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital, yet it is critically under-resourced and lacks even the most fundamental diagnostic capabilities. In the absence of laboratory confirmation, we were forced to manage the patient empirically, relying solely on clinical assessment—an approach reminiscent of pre-modern medicine, where life-saving interventions were administered in the absence of objective biochemical data. This significantly increases the risk of mismanagement, particularly in a condition where rapid titration of fluid resuscitation, insulin therapy, and potassium replacement is imperative to prevent cerebral edema, cardiac arrhythmias, and hemodynamic collapse. To date, essential medical supplies remain systematically obstructed from entering Gaza—a direct violation of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly prohibits the restriction of medical aid to civilian populations under siege. The consequences of this blockade are not abstract; they manifest in preventable pediatric mortality—children suffering, deteriorating, and dying due to conditions that, in any adequately equipped medical facility, would be entirely treatable. What possible security risk do diagnostic reagents and life-saving medications pose? How can such deprivation be justified under any ethical, legal, or medical framework? As a medical professional, I am overcome with frustration and despair at witnessing preventable suffering on a daily basis. In a world where medical advancements allow for unprecedented precision in patient care, we are being forced to practice medicine in the dark. And the ones who suffer most are the most innocent—children. #GazaGenocide
If you’re an Israeli and you’re not ashamed and embarrassed to be Israeli right now, what the fuck is wrong with you!?
