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Sheri Ben-Aroya
Sherry (23) was an Intelligence Officer in the Air Force.
Three years ago she went back to her home in Netanya to celebrate Passover with her family, and for the first time they decided to gather in a hotel to celebrate the Passover Seder. Minutes before the Seder began, a suicide bomber burst into the Park Hotel and blew himself up next to the table where Sheri and her family were sitting.
Sherry's father was killed instantly and her two brothers were severely injured. Sherry, who was declared the most fatally injured, suffered from bomb shards that penetrated her entire body. One shard penetrated her head, and she lay unconscious for three weeks. When she awakened, she found her long hair completely shorn. She was blind in one eye, and her right arm was paralyzed.
For the past three years, Sheri has undergone a long and a painful rehabilitation process in order to repair her body. Her doctors consider her progress to be a medical miracle and a sign of unbelievable will power. She is stronger now and considers herself lucky to be a survivor.
Today, Beit Halochem Tel Aviv plays an important role in Sheri's life. She swims and takes advantage of various kinds of therapeutic treatments, along with communication exercises, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, art and ceramics. In between, she visits the psychologist and the social worker in order to become whole again.
Sheri has learned how to speak again, to move the right side of her body, to write with her left hand and to read Hebrew. She is proud of her new driver's license and is able to drive on her own.
Her big dream is to volunteer in the army and be a Casualties officer. "Because I had been injured in a terrorist act, who can better understand these families than I?"
In December 2004 her dream became true. She was graded "Lieutenant Officer" by General Shkedi of the Israeli Air Force and was integrated back into the army as a volunteer - all part of her painful struggle to return to a normal life.
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