My name is Maisoon, a Palestinian mother from Gaza. I am currently in Egypt with my eight children (all under the age of 16), including my son, Abdelrahman (11 years old), who is suffering from a rare and undiagnosed muscular condition. He has general muscle weakness in his hands and legs, which may be a form of muscular dystrophy or another rare neuromuscular disease. Despite a long journey through hospitals in Egypt, my son has not received a proper diagnosis or effective treatment. Doctors have informed me that he urgently needs advanced treatment abroad, which is not available in Egypt.

Their father remained in Gaza, where he works as a volunteer paramedic. This has left me with full responsibility for the children, struggling to provide their basic needs of health care, education, food, and shelter under extremely difficult economic, social, and psychological conditions.

In addition to Abdelrahman, my daughter Jenan (12 years old) suffers from severe joint inflammation (rheumatism) and requires continuous treatment with penicillin injections every two weeks for a long period of time.

Our suffering has been compounded by the war: we were displaced from our home in Gaza at the beginning of the war and forced to stay in UNRWA refugee shelters before traveling to Egypt for treatment. Later, our family home in Gaza was burned and destroyed by bombing, erasing all our memories and hopes of return. I also lost many family members, and my husband was injured during his volunteer work as a paramedic.

Currently, Abdelrahman is treated with electrical stimulation devices that cause him pain and psychological distress, and I am desperately seeking advanced medical care for him abroad, which requires very high costs that I cannot afford.

As for myself, I suffer from torn knee cartilage and urgently need surgery and ongoing medications, but I cannot prioritize my own treatment because I must save every possible resource for my children’s urgent needs. Despite being educated, I cannot find sustainable work in Egypt due to low wages and the full-time care my children require.

Today, I am appealing for help to secure advanced treatment for my son Abdelrahman and medical support for my daughter Jenan, as well as basic living support for my children and myself. We are facing a humanitarian crisis beyond what one woman can bear alone in the absence of a father and under these extremely harsh circumstances.