Amit Bar'el
Amit Bar’el never in a million years believed it could happen to him. Neither did his wife, Efrat…
After a trip to the supermarket in Kiryat Ono one summer morning during the Second Lebanon War, something moved Efrat to go on to the internet. She hadn’t heard from Amit since he’d been called up to emergency duty a few weeks before.
When she saw the headline that the Alexandroni Brigade had two wounded, one critically, she knew in her heart it had to be Amit…and it was.
At the exact time Efrat had been in the supermarket, Amit had climbed up to the roof of a house in Ras el Biyada in Lebanon. As he opened the door to the roof, there was a loud boom.
An anti-tank missile, fired from a distance of 250 meters away, exploded in front of him. Amit flew backwards down the stairs and everything after that remains a blur. Amit’s fellow reservists injected him full of painkillers and carried him on a stretcher, constantly resuscitating him while running uphill toward a waiting helicopter.
Amit took the full force of the blast in his head. Both of his eyes were crushed. When Efrat reached the hospital in Haifa, she learned that Amit was in critical condition and undergoing surgery. That was two years ago.
Tragically, Amit’s eyesight is gone — but he’s alive. He and his family are so deeply grateful for that. Ask him what he misses most about losing his sight and he’ll tell you that it’s seeing his little daughters. He can still hear them and hug them. But he’ll never “see” them grow from children into young women and that breaks his heart.
Amit sees life as a glass half full and tries to always find the good in every situation. Among the most important of those good things is Beit Halochem in Tel Aviv. That is where Amit goes regularly for a variety of therapy and sport activities that help him to strengthen his body and learn to navigate in his new world. He is able to spend time with others who have also been wounded. They give each other encouragement and support.
At Beit Halochem, Efrat can talk openly with other spouses about her fears and concerns for the future, while taking art and computer lessons. Beit Halochem's water park is the favorite place for Amit and Efrat's two daughters, Lior and Ziv.
When you ask Amit what has made his recovery possible, he will tell you first and foremost the love of his family, and then Beit Halochem. State-of-the-art Centres in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nahariya and the soon to be completed Centre in Beer Sheva offer many services including: therapeutic devices, specialized equipment, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, sport coaching and cultural activities.
After a trip to the supermarket in Kiryat Ono one summer morning during the Second Lebanon War, something moved Efrat to go on to the internet. She hadn’t heard from Amit since he’d been called up to emergency duty a few weeks before.
At the exact time Efrat had been in the supermarket, Amit had climbed up to the roof of a house in Ras el Biyada in Lebanon. As he opened the door to the roof, there was a loud boom.
An anti-tank missile, fired from a distance of 250 meters away, exploded in front of him. Amit flew backwards down the stairs and everything after that remains a blur. Amit’s fellow reservists injected him full of painkillers and carried him on a stretcher, constantly resuscitating him while running uphill toward a waiting helicopter.
Amit took the full force of the blast in his head. Both of his eyes were crushed. When Efrat reached the hospital in Haifa, she learned that Amit was in critical condition and undergoing surgery. That was two years ago.
Tragically, Amit’s eyesight is gone — but he’s alive. He and his family are so deeply grateful for that. Ask him what he misses most about losing his sight and he’ll tell you that it’s seeing his little daughters. He can still hear them and hug them. But he’ll never “see” them grow from children into young women and that breaks his heart.
Amit sees life as a glass half full and tries to always find the good in every situation. Among the most important of those good things is Beit Halochem in Tel Aviv. That is where Amit goes regularly for a variety of therapy and sport activities that help him to strengthen his body and learn to navigate in his new world. He is able to spend time with others who have also been wounded. They give each other encouragement and support.
At Beit Halochem, Efrat can talk openly with other spouses about her fears and concerns for the future, while taking art and computer lessons. Beit Halochem's water park is the favorite place for Amit and Efrat's two daughters, Lior and Ziv.
When you ask Amit what has made his recovery possible, he will tell you first and foremost the love of his family, and then Beit Halochem. State-of-the-art Centres in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nahariya and the soon to be completed Centre in Beer Sheva offer many services including: therapeutic devices, specialized equipment, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, sport coaching and cultural activities.
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