Watan-The Hebrew media continued to monitor the extent of the losses suffered by the Israeli army in the war it is waging on the Gaza Strip, amidst ground battles punctuated by strikes launched by the Palestinian resistance against the occupation forces.
In this context, the Israeli Sheba Medical Center conducted a new study revealing that 60% of the Israeli soldiers injured during the Gaza war, who reached rehabilitation centers, suffered from concussion, in addition to some being misdiagnosed with mental issues.
One of these soldiers, named Ofek Yanun, 21, was injured in November, and during his treatment, the severity of the injury was not immediately apparent, according to “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper.
Yanun said, “I was under the influence of anesthesia and artificial respiration for a month. When I woke up, I was a different person. I was hitting and cursing, even though I’m not that kind of person. Because I had tubes connected to my body, I kept tearing them off all the time.”
When he woke up from anesthesia, changes in his behavior indicated that he had suffered a concussion.
Like him, it turned out that too many Israeli soldiers injured in the war suffered from concussions, a problem that affects their quality of life but is often not diagnosed correctly.
Warnings of significant effects
Neurologists in Israel warned of the spread of dealing with the effects of concussions among the injured.
However, unlike other injuries, the majority of cases do not come to the hospital and suffer for months from symptoms such as anxiety, depression, cognitive problems, memory loss, confusion, and sudden behavioral changes, in addition to other symptoms.
Based on a study conducted by Dr. Rachel Gardner, Director of Clinical Research at the Sajol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Center, a particularly alarming picture emerged for the medical community in the occupied territories.
The study stated, “Approximately 60% of war-injured patients in rehabilitation centers suffered from concussions of varying degrees of severity. What is most worrisome is that some of them were not diagnosed with concussion on routine CT scans, or had not undergone any tests prior to that.”
The injured soldier, Ofek Yanun, mentioned that he is still dealing with the consequences of his injury. He explained, “I was in the areas adjacent to the Shefa Hospital, and we passed by a house that was seized. I was hit from above, and all the bricks fell on me. I suffered a head injury and part of the building collapsed on me. When that happened, I lost consciousness. When I was in the respiratory rehabilitation stage.”
He added, “Memory began to return again. I was told that I had suffered a concussion. I had strange behaviors that I don’t usually exhibit.”
He continued, “Now, as far as my thinking and brain are concerned, there is no problem, so to speak, because I am receiving treatment. But I definitely know that I have a problem with my memory. I have lost my memory, and even now when things happen to me, I have trouble remembering them.”