Or-El Elazarov, the seven-year-old Be’er Sheva boy who was close to death with shrapnel wounds to the brain from a Grad rocket explosion during Operation ‘Cast Lead,’ left the juvenile intensive care ward at Be’er Sheva’s Soroka hospital on Sunday for rehabilitation at a medical institution in Jerusalem. He has regained consciousness and even made simple movements with his hand and foot.
At a news conference in the intensive care unit, Professor Shaul Sofer, who heads the unit, recalled the three operations that Or-El underwent when he was brought to the hospital with massive hemorrhaging, noting that the staff used the most advanced medical procedures available, as well as some unconventional methods, and was optimistic about the boy's chances for recovery.
'New lease on life'
“I have a new lease on life to accompany my strong son for a speedy recovery,” said Or-El’s mother, Angela, who works as a nurse in the operating room at Soroka. With tears of joy, Angela expressed her gratitude towards the medical staff and the Jewish People for their prayers on behalf of Or-El.
“Only at times like these, do we see just how many warm people there are among the Jewish Nation who have helped us continue functioning. Again, words cannot express my thanks to the doctors. I can’t forget that Professor Sofer came during the weekend, and was constantly besides my son’s bedside.”
Relatives from the United States and Europe have visited Israel to pray for and be with the seven-year-old. "Synagogues in Israel and all over the world are praying for the boy," his father Aviel told Israel National News. Co-workers at Soroka passed out Psalms to doctors and nurses, several of whom recited them for the first time in their lives.
Aviel thanked the medical staff, along with his employers at the Nature and Parks Authority who accompanied him throughout the family’s difficult period. He noted how he did not properly value his wife until this critical moment. “I am at a loss for words to thank my wife, who was the first to save our son. I previously thought that men are stronger than women are. However, I’ve changed my mind, and I love you,” Aviel said to his wife.
Extended Vacation
Like many of Be’er Sheva’s schoolchildren on an extended vacation because of his school’s closing due to the Gaza war, Or-El was bored and was tired of being cooped up at home in their neighborhood of Ramot. His mother decided to take her son out for a ride in the car. But then the air raid sirens in Be’er Sheva sounded, indicating that a rocket would explode in a matter of seconds.
Following Home Front procedures, she stopped the car and stepped outside with him to run for cover and laid on the ground, covering him with her body.
After a Grad rocket launched by Hamas terrorists exploded a few meters away from them, she waited a few minutes and then began to get up when a second rocket struck. The child suffered shrapnel wounds in his head and had been unconscious since after being rushed to the hospital.
Angela acknowledged the fact that her being a nurse helped her during the first minutes after the attack. “The moment that I saw my son, I did not lose my senses and ability, and with level-headedness, I put him on my shoulders in order to arrive as quickly as possible to the hospital,” she added.
Although Or-El is out of critical condition, doctors state that he still has a long way to recovery. His Hebrew name for prayers is Or-El ben (son of) Angela Yagut.