Teen hurt in flash flood disaster discharged from hospital
Ron Hakim, who held onto a branch for dear life for 30 minutes after a flash flood hit his group, was discharged from hospital; while hospitalized he was told his friend, Shani Shamir, was killed in the disaster; Sari Kurtz still hospitalized, said to be in stable condition.
Hakim was taken to hospital after the flood disaster in light-to-moderate condition, but improved over the past few days. His father, Nissim, said Sunday, "My son is feeling better. He's still in pain and undergoing treatments. He remembers everything that happened down to the last details."
The teenager's father then offered his son's recollection of the event, saying the wave hit him from behind and swept him to a height of three meters. "Ron was in the water for 30 minutes before he was rescued. He hung onto a branch and waited for rescuers. He saw it all—including friends being swept away."
Ron was well acquainted with Shani Shamir, one of the flood's ten victims, who was also a resident of the central region town of Shoham. During his first days in the hospital, he was not told of her death to allow him time to recover. He was only told of his friend's death Saturday.
Sari Kurtz, the second wounded teen, was transferred for supervision at the cardiologic intensive care unit, where her condition was said to be stable.
Dr. Lior Fuchs, a senior physician at Soroka's internal intensive care ward, reported Sunday that Kurtz's condition was stable. She was transferred to the cardiologic ward since she suffered from an elevated heart rate over the weekend. In addition, tests showed a fluid pooling around her heart due to a blow she took to the chest.
Bar Kurtz, Sari's mother, said Sunday, "She's a fighter and will get through this. She's been through quite an ordeal but is slowly recuperating. We continue keeping our fingers crossed for her speedy recovery."
"Support from her friends and everyone around her has been a big help," she added. "People I don't even know called up to ask what I needed. I wanted to thank everyone who supported us."
Families of the victims, meanwhile, are currently sitting shivah—the traditional Jewish mourning period—for their loved ones' demise. The family of Yael Sadan, for instance, was visited by throngs of people who came in to offer their condolences to her parents and two brothers.
Yael's friends from the Charles E. Smith Jerusalem High School for the Arts, the Bnei Zion pre-military academy and the Hashomer HaTzair youth movement visited as well.
Sadan's father, Kobi, shared his happiness at seeing all of the young people coming in, "each telling how Yael touched his life."
Sadan was very active in a number of causes, volunteering with seniors and at-risk children. "She left her mark everywhere since she was a child," her mother Sharon said. "At daycare, kindergarten, school and the academy. I heard the same things everywhere."
Sharon found it immensely difficult that the disaster that claimed her daughter's life took place in the desert, a place she was so fond of. She revealed, "My nickname is the 'Desert Queen.' Every time things get hard, I go to the desert.
"I spoke to her from there only a week ago. She told me, 'Mom, you should just move there.' I laughed, and replied, 'But then how would you visit me?'"
