Despite doctors giving her just hours to live, a woman gravely hurt during Israel's latest war with Gaza terrorist factions was discharged from the hospital this week after making a miraculous recovery.
Yulia Zalotsky, 44, was given almost no chance of survival after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded near her and sent shrapnel flying in her direction.
On May 11, the second day of the 11-day conflict, Zalotsky — a single mother from Holon — was making her way to work when the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas launched a volley of rockets into Israeli cities.
One of the projectiles crashed directly onto a bus, just feet away from where Zalotsky was standing. The powerful blast ejected a large chunk of shrapnel which lodged in her left thigh, causing her to lose massive amounts of blood.
Zalotsky was rushed in critical condition to Holon's Wolfson Medical Center and doctors had to amputate her left leg almost in its entirety.
After lying in a two-month coma — hanging between life and death — and 13 complex surgeries, Zalotsky opened her eyes three weeks ago.
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The aftermath of the rocket strike in which Zalotsky was hurt, In Holon, May 11, 2021
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
On Wednesday, she was finally discharged from the hospital to continue her recovery at home.
"I did not believe I would ever be released from the hospital,” Zalotsky said.
“It's clear to me that I still have a long way to go, but I am full of hope. What keeps me going is the chance I have to someday walk on my own again with a prosthesis. I am strong and the will to continue living is what keeps me going.”
Zaltosky's daughter, Suzana was thrilled to have her mother finally come home.
"The doctors did not think she would live at first, they told us these were her last hours,” the 26-year-old said. "I did not believe she would live, and now she is finally smiling and happy.”
"Now she has hope. She will be able to go and do whatever she wants and all thanks to the medical team here. If it were not for them, she would not have survived."