Aurora, IL (January 21, 2009)- Now five months pregnant with their first child, the last thing Naperville civil rights attorney Maaria Mozaffar expected -- or wanted -- to see was her physician husband thrown into the middle of the carnage in the Gaza Strip.
This morning, however, that's exactly where interventional radiologist Dr. Imran Qureshi, who practices at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, is headed. With suitcases filled with medical supplies, Qureshi boarded a plane to the Middle East with crossed fingers and a mission of hope.
According to Palestinian medical officials, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began a three-week offensive against Hamas. About 21,000 buildings, including at least 4,000 homes, have been destroyed. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates economic and infrastructure loss at $2 billion.
"When you see the situation over there, the guilt of not helping far supersedes the fear of actually going," Qureshi said Tuesday as he finished up last-minute business at work, sounding anything but nervous.
"I had to weigh the benefits of how I could help someone else versus the risk to myself."
The scale tipped the same way of for some of Qureshi's physician friends. About 10 doctors from across the country, specializing in areas from neurology to surgical procedures, will travel under the banner of the Islamic Medical Assistance of North America, to provide medical relief within the Gaza Strip for 10 days.
Instead of having her eyes glued to the news while her husband of five years is abroad, Mozaffar said she will go on with life as usual.
"I'm just going to go to work and keep busy," she said. "What can you do? Nothing. You can't do anything else.
"He's very committed, and you just can't argue with someone who is doing something good," she said. " ... I'm in a comfy home with food and water, and over there they don't have basic medical care."
With no running water or electricity in Gaza, Qureshi said this job will be more difficult than most. He will have to rely on his intern training instead of his medical specialty to help out anywhere he can.
"There's a lot going on there, and there are so few physicians," he said. "Some of these doctors have been working 24/7, and we're going to relieve that a little bit."
Back in Naperville, however, Qureshi's pregnant wife will be seeking relief of her own, hoping a cease-fire will continue and that her husband will be home safe and sound.
"I told his parents that I'm very proud to be able to have this baby, because you don't know what could happen (when Qureshi is away)," she said. "You pray that he's safe, but you're proud he's doing the right thing, and I'll always be able to share that with our daughter."
