‘The day I was supposed to have died’
NOVEMBER 10, 2012 is a day Shimon Alankri will never forget. It was the day the injured Israeli veteran says he should have died.
Currently in Australia as a guest of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation (ZDVO) along with two other veterans, Alankri spoke exclusively to The AJN about his injuries and the role ZDVO – known as Beit Halochem in Israel – has played in his recovery.
He had been serving in the army for two years when he was taking part in an operational activity near the Gaza border.
“That’s a day that I can’t forget for the rest of my life … three terrorists jumped out of a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at the jeep. I was seriously injured, it was a direct hit,” he said.
“I was suffering from a lot of shrapnel, all the smoke, all the fire.
“And it was a huge miracle, I don’t know if you understand but I was supposed to be dead.”
With his vision fading from shrapnel in his eyes and also all over his body, he was airlifted to the Soroka Hospital in Beersheva.
“They were trying not only to save my eyesight [but] also to save my life,” he recalled.
“I had emergency surgery for over eight hours and then I was in an induced coma for over 24 hours. [When] I woke up I wasn’t able to open my eyes. I wasn’t able to see for the next 10 days.”
A little more than two years later, Alankri has had nine eye surgeries and another surgery on his head, with more to come.
“A lot of surgeries, a lot of therapy, you’re fighting yourself every day. It’s not an easy situation,” he said.
“But still, I can walk by myself, I can drive, I can see you right now, so it’s enough for me.”
He said Beit Halochem (ZDVO) is a “special place”.
“It’s about the people,” he said. “Regular people won’t understand how you are struggling. At Beit Halochem … you can only look each other in the eyes, and you can understand.”
He said he has met many people there he can talk to not just about his injuries but about “the experience of life”.
“You can see there is life after the injury,” he said.
In Australia to promote the important work that the organisation does in Israel, he said he can “feel the love and the support of this amazing community”.
He now plans to travel the world before studying, with the dream of being a sports journalist.
To donate to ZDVO, visit www.zdvo.com.
GARETH NARUNSKY
Shimon Alankri at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Photo: Gareth Narunsky
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