Israeli doctor treats Boston terrorist, victims; says 'I'm used to it'
Director of hospital where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being treated says 'Situation reminded me of terror attacks in Israel, but Americans not used to it'
Only a few meters separated the surviving suspect in the terror attack at the Boston Marathon from those who were injured in the twin blasts, and they are all being treated by an Israeli. Professor Kevin (Ilan) Tabb (49) is the director of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, where suspected terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being treated. Twenty-four people who were injured in the attack were also admitted to the hospital, among them 16 who are in serious condition.
Speaking to Ynet, Tabb told Ynet that Tsarnaev was in stable condition and suffered from wounds to his throat. The hospital director said that even if the suspect survives, he may never be able to speak again.
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"Unfortunately, I have had a lot of experience with these types of injuries after years of treating people injured in terror attacks in Israel," said the professor, who is a member of the board of Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, where he studied medicine and completed his residency.
'Hospital was prepared.' Manhunt in Boston (Photo: MCT)
"We have a few Israeli doctors in the emergency room, and the director of the ER is also Israeli. But most of the physicians at the hospital are not Israeli, and they functioned exceptionally well," Tabb added.
He told Ynet that the Boston Marathon attack resulted in "numerous leg injuries from the blasts, and there were many amputations as well. In Israel we are used to this and here they are not, but the hospital was prepared. Most of those who were seriously injured in the attack were sent to the three main trauma centers in Boston, including ours.
"It was very similar to what I was used to in Israel in that we had to admit many injured people in a short period of time," Professor Tabb said. "The fact that we are treating both the victims and the suspected terrorist also reminds me of similar situations in Israel. In Israel we had an injured soldier and a terrorist lying on adjacent beds. When an injured person is admitted to the ER, the doctor or nurse treats him without asking questions."
Relatives of some of the people who were injured in the terror attack in Boston criticized the decision to treat Tsarnaev in the same hospital as their loved ones.
"I don't understand why they would bring him where my son is," said Liz Norden, who is keeping vigil at her son Paul's bedside in the intensive care unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Norden told NBC she was "angry" when Tsarnaev was brought to the hospital Friday night, wounded from a gun-battle with police. The improvement in Paul's condition had calmed her fury.
"As long as my son is alive...," she said. "And today he opened his eyes."
Paul and his older brother J.P. both lost a leg. "I can't even tell you how devastating it's been," Norden said. "Those two (the bombers) shattered my world."
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