Feeling suffocating as if a weight is pressing on his chest and cutting off his breath, the ten-year-old Gazan child "Bara'a" woke up to find the kitchen door—or what was once the kitchen before the bombing—had slid over him while he slept on a mat on the floor of his house-turned-tent after being bombed. In order not to wake his sleeping family with him, he carefully removed the door and stood. He felt the cold dawn breeze mixed with the familiar smell of smoke that had almost replaced oxygen for him. He strained his ears, hoping to catch the chirping of a bird, but under constant bombardment, a bird's existence seemed as mythical as the phoenix's. Suddenly, he mitigated his listening, fearing his ears might catch the cries of a hungry child, pleas for help, or the groans of someone trapped under the rubble. The void created by the surrounding destructed structures facilitates the propagation of even the weakest sound. He then glimpsed the usual view of the damaged houses, rubble, and ash. Today was quieter. Despite the house being bombed, the tent, that his father had set up against some pillars, made him feel the warmth and security of a home. A strange sense of tranquility filled him, a glimmer of hope that drove him to rise from his bed, and a deep faith that stirred his soul and gave him chills. Faith that injustice would end, justice would prevail, and the oppressor, despite his brutality, would be disgraced both in this world and the hereafter. This strange rising hope made him think: Why not try helping his family somehow? He thought of that while looking at his exhausted cousins from rescue work, his responsibilities-burdened father, and his disabled uncle. Yes, he would do something for them, but this time, driven not by duty but by deep hope and steadfast patience. After walking for miles, gathering papers and charred cloth scraps from the damaged houses in his path, he encountered a crowd gathered around a large cart. A crew, dressed in blue vests, was attempting to organize the crowd and distribute boxes that undoubtedly contained food supplies. He rushed himself into the crowd, but his thin frame did not support him. Despite being upset that his hands couldn't reach the boxes thrown by the blue-vested men, he could not be angry at the rushing people because they were as hungry as he was. While he was about to cry from frustration, a young man took his arm, pulled him out of the crowd, and handed him a box. He patted Bara'a's head hurriedly. Bara'a looked at him with grateful, tearful eyes, wanting to hug and thank him but didn't dare. His heart almost leapt out of his chest with joy, and he rushed home. For the first time, his family would be proud of him, allowing him to read without reproach. He loved to read and learn but in secret as he believed it is a disgrace to enjoy learning while all around him are suffering. As he approached his home, the flood of joy that filled him was interrupted by the sound of ambulance sirens nearby. His eyes widened, and his legs froze. A girl with her head almost severed from her body was being carried by a medic. Despite the blood covering her face, he could recognize her as his sister. Fear drove him to run to his home. The tent pillars were broken, and a closer look revealed blood splattered almost everywhere. He approached with bloodshot eyes, trembling lips, and a terrifying calm, moving towards the fleeing people. No one paid him any attention. He grabbed a medic' from his hand, he tried to shake him off, but Bara'a threw himself at his feet. “Just tell me what happened!” "It was an operation to free enemy captives. Their soldiers disguised themselves in civilian clothes and shot everyone in their path. 221 innocents were killed for freeing four captives." He asked with incapacity, "My family?!" " Son… God delays but does not neglect." Then he left. Bara'a dragged himself to a quiet corner away from the chaos and strikes. He introverted, groaning, feeling life ebb away. His only comfort was the certainty of his near death. Here, ends our story with Bara'a, but his story has not ended. Even if it is a figment of imagination, the harsh reality of Gaza weaves many other stories that are even more painful and tormenting.

Doesn't it seem peculiar saying about loss of perception of the surrounding half of the world? If it does, how can you then imagine the unusual reality of those who develop Hemispatial neglect? This unusual reality comes from the inability of patients with neglect syndrome to respond to events occurring in exactly one half of their world, resulting in their weird behaviors that reflect their deficit in processing and interaction with data from this half as if it is “neglected” by them. Nature and Symptoms of the Syndrome: Hemispatial neglect is a neurological condition follows a damage in definite parts of the brain hemispheres. Patients with neglect shows symptoms of lateralized inattention and failing to report information about scenes from one side of their center of gaze. The manifestations of neglect syndrome can be so bizarre that they are hard to believe if not directly observed. Milder cases are less observable. However, symptoms can develop in sever cases to reach complete ignorance -not just inattention- for one side, and acting as if half the universe no longer exists. This may be more understandable if you know that patients with neglect may shave only one side of their face, brush the teeth on only one side of their mouse, eat from only one side of the plate and initiate movement to just one side. If patients are asked to point to the midline of their body, they point too far to only one side. In case of neglect syndrome, the brain acts as a computer system that receives inputs without processing them. For instance, patients can see everything but they aren't perceiving everything; because brain regions involved in perception of visual information are damaged. This may be better understood if we compared ‘neglect syndrome' to ‘Hemianopia'. This may be better understood if we compared ‘neglect syndrome' to ‘Hemianopia'. Both disorders lead patients to miss information on the left. Patients with hemianopia miss information on the left; because they cannot see it; due to a cut in the visual field so that visual information doesn't transfer from the retina to the occipital lope. While patients with neglect miss information due to an attentional deficit; they see, but they don't perceive the visual information. Neglect syndrome is a serious condition that requires increased awareness among health practitioners and needs more understand for causes and symptoms. Not only the prevalence and debilitating nature of neglect are what create the need for awareness, but also the fact that neglect syndrome is associated with a range of comorbid conditions including some neurodegenerative disease, strokes and hemiplegia.