Schoolchildren leave the southern suburbs of Beirut during the July 2006 war. (Photo: AFP)
I've long had difficulty breathing in July.My breath becomes shallow. The chest tightens. Air comes in, but something refuses to let it out. Fingers tingle, hands clench, the face goes numb. The body recognizes July before the calendar even announces it.In our families, organs have always had a memory.My father’s heart always chose summer to give him trouble. First heart attack at 48. Second at 51. Again in July. Then a triple bypass, still in July.A heart attack is when a blood clot interrupts the blood flow and deprives the heart of oxygen. The heart muscle suffers, then begins to die. A bypass creates a detour around the damaged artery so the blood can continue to supply it.My father has three of those pathways in his chest.Three detours so his heart can keep breathing.Silent inheritancesMy brother’s lungs have their own story. At...
I've long had difficulty breathing in July.My breath becomes shallow. The chest tightens. Air comes in, but something refuses to let it out. Fingers tingle, hands clench, the face goes numb. The body recognizes July before the calendar even announces it.In our families, organs have always had a memory.My father’s heart always chose summer to give him trouble. First heart attack at 48. Second at 51. Again in July. Then a triple bypass, still in July.A heart attack is when a blood clot interrupts the blood flow and deprives the heart of oxygen. The heart muscle suffers, then begins to die. A bypass creates a detour around the damaged artery so the blood can continue to supply it.My father has three of those pathways in his chest.Three detours so his heart can keep breathing.Silent inheritancesMy brother’s lungs have their own...
Who are the Iraqi armed militants hit by US-Saudi strikes ?
'The real solution begins with disarmament,' Geagea says