Ayala Shapira, the 11-year-old girl who was seriously hurt in a firebomb attack in the Samaria region
now hospitalized at the Sheba Medical Center
Ayala Shapira, the 11-year-old girl who was seriously hurt in a firebomb attack in the Samaria region last Thursday, now hospitalized at the Sheba Medical Center
Firebombs are primarily intended to set targets ablaze rather than instantly destroy them. The attack on Thursday night succeeded. It set the target ablaze. The target is now in hospital, fighting a desperate battle for her life. Her name is Ayala Shapira and she is eleven years old.
Family snapshot of Ayala Shapira, the child attacked by the firebombers on Thursday
On the way back to their home in the Samaria region, a firebomb smashed through the family's car window and landed on Ayala's lap. It set her hair and clothes alight. It took her a while to get out of the car, the seatbelt might have jammed, and roll on the ground to put out the flames. Her father Avner, who suffered minor burn injuries, carried Ayala several hundred meters to their outpost home before receiving medical care.
Upon admission to the hospital, Ayala was diagnosed with third-degree burns on her face and upper torso, and her wounds were and still are life-threatening. At present, she is being treated in the Pediatric Intensive Care Department of the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital. On Friday, a breathing passage was opened in her neck, where she had suffered serious burns, to stabilize her during the first 48 hours of her injury. The surgery was described by Dr. Itay Pesah, a senior member of the ward's medical team, as "the first in a series of expected surgeries, to treat her burns and to ensure her airways remain functioning. The surgery was successful and her condition stable for now. There were signs that her body's response was good."
Prof. Gidi Paret, head of the Pediatric Intensive Care Department, said that "Ayala is now awake from time to time. Her parents and close family are at her side around the clock and never stop talking to her and stroking her to give her a sense of home."
A lot of medical staff is involved in saving Ayala's live and bettering her condition, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, as well as social workers who at present are mainly focused on the support of the girl's family. So is Kinneret, one of the 2000 second intifada victims who was most severely injured and suffered terrible burns on her face and torso much as Ayala - when a terrorist blew himself up in front of her in a Tel Aviv coffee shop where she worked at that time. Very spontaneously, Kinneret showed up at Sheba where she was hospitalized and rehabilitated in the past, to talk to Ayala's family and give them hope for the future. Although it took long years of suffering and many surgeries, today Kinneret is a living symbol for the triumph of human spirit and medical know-how. Now, at 36 years of age, she is married and a mother of four.
Kinneret courtesy of Ulrike Haen
The treatment of Ayala is in cooperation with the pediatric intensive care specialists and Sheba's plastic surgeons, headed by Prof. Eyal Winkler, head of the Plastic Surgery Department, who see her twice a day. So far, Ayala underwent two facial skin scaffolds, a new technology allowing the transplanted skin grafts to develop the re-growth of new skin without leaving emphasized graft border lines and a normal and natural facial appearance.
Both doctors, Prof. Gidi Paret and Prof. Eyal Winkler, share the same commitment and devotion, which can be expressed in a few words: "Ayala is like our own child, beautiful and very courageous. She captured our hearts, and we continue to do everything for her that modern Israeli technology can offer. With severely burned children like Ayala, we are hopeful and waiting for the first smile on her face."
Prof. Zeev Rotstein, director of the Sheba Medical Center, remarked that "the situation is very complicated. A long struggle is ahead of this extraordinary young girl. The beginning consists of stabilizing her, reviving her, and getting her to a state where Sheba's burns specialist and plastic surgeons can begin to reconstruct her face. Hospitalization will take months, and facial construction can even last longer."
Ayala's doctors and nurses are full of desire to succeed and are optimistic: Another battle to fight, another battle to win! Those dedicated Sheba angels in white will never give up and will always do their utmost for their patients.
