Participating in a Maged David Adom emergency medicine seminar offered me the unique opportunity to see Israel from down south...as our seminar was moved here, to Ashkelon, at the last minute.
This isn't a different area of Israel, but a different planet. The area we're staying in -- southern Ashkelon, only a few miles from the Gaza strip, is not just a virtual ghost town, but a different planet, with rules of its own. Our 5 star hotel is booked by MDA...and the EU. Over a dozen "diplomatic" EU vehicles are parked outside, all used for jaunts into Gaza, to see the wonderful paradise the EU helped create. Why the EU stays in Israel in Ashkelon, instead of Gaza, is a mystery.
Upon starting our seminar, the ground rules were given out -- what to do in case of rocket attacks. Here in Ashkelon, a wailing up and down air-raid siren informs us we have less than 20 seconds to seek shelter. The ranking MDA official told us that just yesterday, it was sounded, so he's pretty confident the system is working correctly.
Meanwhile, the course has already been extremely informative, as I learned about the following conditions (among other things)
Ulticaria
Reasons for Club fingers
HyperThyroidism
Marfon Syndrome
Cushing's Syndrome
And...(I found this important) if someone is suffering from fever convulsions, I should check their blood sugar level as well to ensure that hypoglycemia isn't starting.
Regards from Qassam City,
Jameel
This isn't a different area of Israel, but a different planet. The area we're staying in -- southern Ashkelon, only a few miles from the Gaza strip, is not just a virtual ghost town, but a different planet, with rules of its own. Our 5 star hotel is booked by MDA...and the EU. Over a dozen "diplomatic" EU vehicles are parked outside, all used for jaunts into Gaza, to see the wonderful paradise the EU helped create. Why the EU stays in Israel in Ashkelon, instead of Gaza, is a mystery.
Upon starting our seminar, the ground rules were given out -- what to do in case of rocket attacks. Here in Ashkelon, a wailing up and down air-raid siren informs us we have less than 20 seconds to seek shelter. The ranking MDA official told us that just yesterday, it was sounded, so he's pretty confident the system is working correctly.
Meanwhile, the course has already been extremely informative, as I learned about the following conditions (among other things)
Ulticaria
Reasons for Club fingers
HyperThyroidism
Marfon Syndrome
Cushing's Syndrome
And...(I found this important) if someone is suffering from fever convulsions, I should check their blood sugar level as well to ensure that hypoglycemia isn't starting.
Regards from Qassam City,
Jameel
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
Qassam City- Oy.
ReplyDeleteHope everything is OK where you are. When you get back you can face this new threat - a meme.
ReplyDeleteI'm tagging you. Go to:
http://isramom.blogspot.com/2008/11/tagged-in-or-out.html to see what it's about. (or not, whatever)
That's uRticaria and marfAn's Syndrome.
ReplyDeleteLurking MD: Considering the entire course was in Hebrew, and all the words were transliterated into Hebrew, I think I did an ok job :)
ReplyDeletei loved doing hishtalmut all in hebrew
ReplyDeletei'm sure you were the hero doing it all in hebrew - i was the only anglo amongst 65% arabs and the rest israelis and they thought i was the best thing since canned chumus and bamba