Sergeant Kobi Hershtel, a 20-year-old armored corps soldier from Haifa, returned to Assuta Ashdod Hospital exactly one year after being critically wounded in the fighting in Shajaiya, Gaza, to meet for the first time the doctors and nurses who saved his life. He had been hit by a missile in his tank, evacuated by helicopter in critical condition, and during treatment doctors amputated both of his legs. His teammate, Yaniv Michalovich, was killed in the same incident.
Hershtel spent a long period sedated and on a ventilator in intensive care, and later moved to a rehabilitation center near his home. Because of his condition, he had never met or spoken with the hospital staff during his admission. He returned after a long rehabilitation process now walking with prosthetic legs.
He was accompanied by Major (res.) Margarita Memedov, commander of the RAM 2 unit, into the intensive care unit, where the doctors, nurses, and staff who had cared for him and supported his family were waiting. Hershtel said he had long planned to meet them, and chose to make the day, which also marked the memorial day for Michalovich, into one of gratitude. “I wanted to come here and say thank you,” he said. “Thank you for not giving up on me, thank you for saving my life.”
Dr. Ami Maio, head of the hospital’s general intensive care unit, said Hershtel arrived sedated and ventilated and they could not even hold a conversation with him. He said the staff fought for his life, provided the most advanced treatment, and supported his family through the hardest moments. Seeing him return on prosthetics, smiling, speaking, and dreaming of becoming a doctor, Mayo said, was “a great privilege” and a reminder of the meaning of their work. Hershtel ended the visit with a tour of the unit and the room where he had been hospitalized, speaking personally with the staff members who treated him.
