In an emotional event held Wednesday at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Kibbutz Nahal Oz resident Elma Avraham, 85, who was abducted to Gaza on October 7 and returned to Israel in critical condition after 51 days in Hamas captivity, was discharged after five months.
"I feel wonderful, how much you helped me, and thanks to you, I survived, thank you very much," Avraham told the hospital's medical team.
Her Hamas captors neglected her medically and did not administer medication. She arrived at the hospital frail, with a body temperature of 28°C (82℉). Immediately after her admission, the doctors called her family to come and bid farewell to her. After the hospital team battled for her life for several weeks, there was an improvement in her condition. She regained consciousness and managed to breathe independently.
"We haven't found similar sources in the medical literature of people in similar conditions," said Professor Moti Klein, head of the Intensive Care Unit at Soroka Medical Center. "We haven't found an example of a person who went through such - both hunger and systematic abuse. We haven't found medical documentation like this. Your signature is on the first page of the book that shouldn't have been written: how to medically treat people who experienced what you experienced. We are constantly thinking about what it means to be a survivor in captivity. Our department drew a lot from you. It helped us grow."
Uri, Avraham's son, said: "My mother is a phoenix, a bird of sand that rose from the ashes. She arrived here in the 90th minute and something in her realized she reached a safe haven. On the day Mom returned from hell, on November 26, she arrived at the hospital in critical condition. Since then, she has undergone a long recovery and rehabilitation journey, while she fought a battle that awakened awe and inspiration. She is once again a mother and grandmother, she is able to eat again, walk in the sun, and smile."
The son added: "We have no words to thank you for your holy and touching work at every stage here. This wonderful place enveloped us in blessings, endless dedication, love, care, compassion, professionalism, attention, and grace. Mom celebrated her 85th birthday a month ago. At 85, for the second time in her life, she stood on her own feet and started walking. We will forever remember her story of rescue, her incomprehensible survival, her physical and mental strength that sustained her throughout the horrific period of captivity under Hamas monsters."
In addition to thanking the hospital staff, Uri called for the return of those left behind." Another 132 hostages are in Gaza, seven months. Here, at our private moment of victory today, as we leave here to Mom's new life, we do not forget them. They must be with us, they must return now," he said.
When asked how she explains her remarkable recovery, Avraham replied: "It's the strength I had to return to you, to see all of you, and especially to see my children and my family." She also has a clear message to the government regarding the urgent need to negotiate the release of hostages: "They must be released now."