Gaza: Save Baby Hamza and His Family

Introduction:

Hello, my name is Ali and I'm reaching out to you on behalf of Hamza and his family who are currently stuck in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip after being displaced multiple times since the early days of the Israeli war on Gaza.

What makes this war extremely difficult for them is the delicate medical situation of little baby Hamza who is only 2 years old, and about a year ago he was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic disorder called Glycogen Storage Disease type 1b (GSD-1b). At the time of diagnosis, there was only 1 other reported case like Hamza in Gaza Strip.

What is GSD?

Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD) is a rare condition that changes the way the body uses and stores glycogen, a form of sugar or glucose.

Glycogen is a main source of energy for the body. Glycogen is stored in the liver. When the body needs more energy, certain proteins called enzymes break down glycogen into glucose. They send the glucose out into the body.

When someone has GSD, they are missing one of the enzymes that break down glycogen. When an enzyme is missing, glycogen can build up in the liver. Or glycogen may not form properly. This can cause problems in the liver or muscles, or other parts of the body.

How can you get better from GSD?

Unfortunately, this genetic disease has no cure yet, and for Hamza to survive he must follow an extremely strict diet and take certain medications to live a life as close to normal as possible.

His diet must be free from all kinds of sugar and dairy products, and focus on carbohydrates, vegetables, and small amounts of fats.

What's terrifying about GSD-1b is that it has two symptoms that can be fatal if not treated well: Hypoglycemia and Neutropenia.

To prevent Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), Hamza must take a dose of uncooked cornstarch every 3 hours. This prevents his blood sugar from dropping and is a critical factor to save his life as well, as explained by doctors, cornstarch is essential to GSD patients.

Then on the other hand, Neutropenia is an immunity deficiency duo to low neutrophil count (a type of white blood cells) which leaves Hamza with a vulnerable immunity system that can barely resist infections, and to counter that, Hamza must take a daily dose of a medicine that stimulate the growth of the white blood cells in his body and provide support to his immune system.

So, as you can see Hamza faces three potentially deadly challenges on a daily basis: strict diet, cornstarch, and medicine that must be kept in a refrigerator, so electricity is also a critical issue here.

Why is this an emergency?

It is quite difficult to maintain a proper support system for Hamza, and now with the war, this is becoming extremely challenging as Gaza is running out of food and soon his special formula milk and medicine will also run out and could potentially put an end to his life. Even a simple cold means Hamza would need hospitalization.

With this raging war in Gaza, it's becoming impossible to find suitable food products, as Gaza is running out of common goods, so cornstarch and special dairy-free formula is even harder to find. The moment the little amount we have now run out his life will be in great danger, and at the moment we keep his medicine in a fridge in a near-by hospital, so if electricity is out or if there's no way for us to reach the hospital in time for his daily dose he won't survive, not to mention that his doses will eventually run out and we have no way and no idea how to re-stock on his medicine.

What is the current situation?

Now, Hamza is extremely sick, and he's currently hospitalized in a facility that lacks the basic medical supplies needed for any proper medical care. There aren’t enough spaces for patients, not enough staff to look after them, in addition to the fact that this same hospital is also being used as a refuge center and it's very crowded with displaced people.

All these factors could cause Hamza to catch a fatal infection due to the extremely poor hygiene at the facility, and with his vulnerable immune system we are crippled with fear of the worst possible scenario which seems closer and closer by the minute.

So, I'm urgently reaching out to you today as we are in dire need to help evacuate Hamza and 3 other members of his family from Gaza, because the harsh truth we face today is that it is only a matter of weeks only before Hamza runs out of essential medication and formula needed for him to live.

Hamza is such a happy kid even in moments of peace between bombings, his smile never leaves his little face, and he's full of life and joy and is quite inseparable from his older sister Alma.

How can you help?

Please help save Hamza by donating to his fundraiser and sharing his story and the link to this campaign with other people. Every little bit counts.

Important Information:

My full name is Ali El Aila, and I'm the one organizing this campaign because I'm outside Gaza with access to the Internet and a supported bank account. All the donations will go to my-in-laws family, including Hamza.

Hamza Firwana is my nephew-in-law, he's the son of my wife's sister.

Your donations will be used for:

Leave the war zone in Gaza Strip to a safe area in Egypt, this means crossing the borders through Rafah land port on the borders between Gaza and Egypt. Since the borders are closed you need a special authorization from the Egyptian side to cross. The cost for this varies, some time ago it was $6K/$7K, and now it's reaching $10K/$11K PER PERSON. This payment will go to the agency responsible for these permits while the family is still in Khan Yunis city south Gaza Strip.

Hospital visits and doctor check-ups, medicine, and special food products for Hamza for a period of 3 months. Please note that as Hamza is not Egyptian and he has no medical insurance in Egypt, all medical care costs will be covered from the fundraiser.

Rent (hotel or apartment in Egypt), medicine, food, and cloths for the whole family for a period of 3 months.

Transportation cost for the family from Khan Yunis in Gaza Strip to Cairo, Egypt, including cars, buses, and any other potential fees, in addition to stopping at some restaurants for rest and food during the 5-8 hours trip to Cairo.

The GoFundMe platform fees and for any bank transfer fees. These fees are paid online.

Full list of family members and beneficiaries:

Hamza Firwana, 2 years

GSD-1b patient

Alma Firwana, 7 years

Hamza's sister

Haneen Firwana, 29 years

Hamza's mother

Hossam Firwana, 32 years

Hamza's father

On behalf of Hamza and his family, thank you so much for your support.

Best Regards,

Ali