"Three of my children were wounded in the war, Elkana lost his legs, but I feel that I have been blessed"

The moving moment at the thanksgiving party of Elkana Levy, where he danced in the center of the circle on the two prosthetics that serve as his legs, was a moment of victory. A moment that concluded a whole year of treatments and rehabilitation. A year that began with a severe injury in Khan Yunis and ended with an extraordinary recovery.

"There were quite a few challenging moments that preceded this moment," says Orit Levy, Elkana's mother, whose three sons have been wounded since the outbreak of the war.

"With the outbreak of the war, right on Simchat Torah, our eldest son Rahamim Yishai was wounded. He was a regular soldier in the Golani Brigade and served on the Gaza border. He suffered a severe facial and jaw injury. Eight months later, Yedidya, our second son, who was an officer in Gaza, was wounded, and Elkana was wounded a year and two months ago."

"I gave birth to a healthy child and now he is without legs"

Elkana's injury, the youngest son, was more severe than his brothers'. "It happened during a relatively calm period of the war," Orit recalls. "Someone called me who introduced herself as 'Natasha from the army'. I thought it was the medical officer who was in contact with us when my other sons were hospitalized at Ichilov. She replied: 'This is not the Natasha you know'. And then I understood and started screaming. She said: 'Elkana was seriously wounded. Casualty officers are waiting for you to take you to Soroka'."

When they arrived at the hospital, the surgeon informed them that Elkana had lost both his legs. "He noted that to his joy, Elkana had a knee left on one of the legs. Later, when they fitted him with prosthetics, I understood that the knee is actually a 'game changer', very significant for balance while walking," Orit says.

In the intensive care unit, doctors expected Elkana to be sedated and ventilated for weeks. "They told us: 'Our role is to be pessimistic, and your role is to be optimistic'. We tried, but the blow was very hard," admits Orit.

Optimism as a source of strength

Despite the prognosis, Elkana opened his eyes after less than 48 hours. "He immediately asked if the funeral of Amit Cohen, his soldier who was killed in the incident, had already taken place. When I replied that it had, he cried. I said: 'Surely you are in pain'. But Elkana replied: 'It's not the legs that hurt, but Amit...'. He also breathed a sigh of relief when I replied that the doctors said the head was fine," Orit recalls.

On what gave them strength, Orit notes: "First of all, it is the context of his injury, because we understand that he was in an important and significant place for the people of Israel. Strength comes from above. In those days, it was expressed through the embrace of the people of Israel. Hundreds of people came to Soroka Hospital to support us. Of course, as a mother, it is hard to think that my child is without legs, but I focus on the fact that Elkana is alive, and I must be thankful for that with all my might."

The story of the people of Israel

Elkana adds: "My way of looking at things comes from home. We are part of a very big story that began 2,000 years ago. All this converges on one morning of Simchat Torah 5784, when we received a mission and are required to stand by it. The Levy family is one of countless families that stood up, like all the State of Israel. In our case, with four combat soldiers."

"If they had asked me ten minutes before the injury what I want in life, I would have replied that I aspire to be exactly where I am. I knew the risks, and that makes it easier to cope. I recently received approval to return to the army, and next week I will return to significant service," emphasizes Elkana.

To be thankful for life

Ten months after the injury, Elkana was released and decided to hold a thanksgiving party. "It was a dream that accompanied me from the first days in the ICU," he reveals. "I saw circles of giving and realized there are so many good people in the world. The party was an opportunity to thank everyone. We hear many negative stories about the war, but I want to say: this story is a good story. It is painful, but it contains so much light."

More than 600 people came to the party. "It was a happy party with music and dancing. It was very moving when they lifted me on their shoulders with the prosthetics. People are used to hearing how bad things are, but these were a few hours where it was possible to feel the true good and be thankful to the Creator of the world," Elkana concludes.