A shrapnel lodged in her head and the doctors decided to keep her alive for fear of her life. 
 Her cousin to Al-Quds: Bushra is dying slowly and needs urgent treatment abroad 
 Her father, mother, only sister, brothers, brother's wife and baby girl were murdered. 
 47 days in the hospital with no food or water. Now she is being fed through a tube in her neck.

“She flew about 200 meters from her house the moment the bombing happened.” This is how Bashayer Al-Ubaid’s cousin described what happened to her on that fateful day. Moments in which Bashayer held her breath, and her memory often failed her, without her believing, or anyone believing, that she was still alive.

Bashayer's suffering began when the Israeli occupation launched a fire belt that targeted her family's house on March 3, 2024. Her cousin told Al-Quds and Al-Quds.com: "At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, the occupation betrayed them, as her father, mother, only sister, brothers, sister-in-law and daughter were martyred." She added: "Until this moment, a number of her family members are still under the rubble, in pieces."

As for Bashaer, she was hit by a piece of shrapnel that lodged in her head, and she did not undergo any surgery for fear of causing paralysis. Her cousin said: “The doctors decided not to perform any surgery because the shrapnel was in a sensitive area of her head.” She continued: “This caused a hole in her ear and an inability to move normally on the left side of her body, so my sisters and I had to carry her and move her.”

Bashayer spent 47 days in intensive care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, without food or drink. Her cousin recounts: “Her condition was very critical, and the doctors had lost hope of her recovery. They told us that she could be dead at any moment, so she did not eat anything, which caused her to suffer from malnutrition, which caused her to lose a lot of weight.”

She continued: "Then the doctors put a tube in her neck through which she could eat simple things according to her ability to swallow."

The hospital was filled with injured people, which forced doctors to remove Bushra from intensive care and replace her with another injured person in critical condition. Her cousin says: “Her injury caused her to suffer from memory loss most of the time. She does not remember people. Sometimes she recognizes them and many times she forgets.”

For six months now, Bushra has been suffering from malnutrition, which has greatly exacerbated her injury and the effects of it. She continues: “She has a curvature of the spine, abdominal swelling, and an inability to speak, not to mention a sudden rise and fall in her blood pressure.”

She added: “Bashaer’s diet is based on liquids and soups only, and the doctors have forbidden her from eating bread because it causes her constipation, and she is unable to move.”

Bushra takes a lot of medications without any results, which has affected her physically and led to her suffering from burning in the veins. Her cousin adds: “She has been in the hospital for six months without receiving the required treatment. She only takes medication for blood clots and convulsions.”

More than five times a day, doctors perform suction operations on Bashar to enable her to breathe, and often more than ten times. She continues: “The operation is done through a tube that doctors place on her neck and they suction out the phlegm that has accumulated in the chest.”

What about the bouts of depression that Bushra goes through? Her cousin answers: “She always asks about her mother, and when she realizes that she was martyred and will not return, she cries a lot and gets even more upset. Her head gets hot where the shrapnel hit her and the bleeding starts again, so the doctors have to give her IVs, and sometimes they give her sleeping pills to calm her down and make her sleep.”

Many times, Bashayer thinks about death and meeting her family. She continues: “Sometimes she wants to strangle her neck with a tweezer, and other times she bites her hand until it turns blue.” She continues: “She reaches a very bad psychological state, and she does not receive psychological treatment.”

Bashayer needs surgery outside the Gaza Strip to drain the blood trapped in her head and restore her memory completely. According to doctors, her recovery rate is 70%. Her cousin says: “We call on everyone to intervene urgently to save her life before it’s too late and so that she can walk on her feet.” She adds: “The least she can do is go to the bathroom herself.”