ADI rehabilitation patient Aviad Bachar and his 13-year-old daughter Hadar were both seriously injured during the brutal Hamas attack of October 7. Though they survived the infiltration, Aviad’s wife, Dana (48) and son Carmel (15) were both slaughtered by the terrorists. Two other sons were not at the kibbutz on that fateful day.
ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran CEO Avi Wortzman and representatives of the ADI administration accompanied Aviad on an emotional trip back to what remains of his charred home in Kibbutz Be’eri to hear his story and share his pain.
Aviad recounted, “I looked Hadar in the eye and told her that everything will be alright. ‘Mom and Carmel are no longer with us, but they aren’t suffering. Now it’s just you and me.’ Hadar was using three phones, trying to contact people on the outside and let them know our location, to come get us out. I was losing blood, beginning to drift in and out of consciousness. I was scared for Hadar. She had just watched as her mother and brother took their last breaths. I couldn’t do that to her also. I tried to hold on as much as possible. Towards evening, she grabbed hold of me and said, ‘Dad, we have to open the safe room. The army is here.’ She helped the soldiers break the window of the safe room and get us out. My little girl saved my life.”
Following a long period of hospitalization, Aviad transferred to ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran for orthopedic rehabilitation where he is learning to use his new prosthetic leg, specially adapted to fit his needs.
Though the events Aviad experienced on October 7 are difficult to process, Aviad finds a degree of comfort and gratitude by concentrating on what he had prior to that day and hope for the future. “It is true that Dana and Carmel are no longer with us, but I was lucky to have had them in my life. Some couples divorce within a year of marriage. I had Dana for 32 years and we raised a wonderful family. Some people lose children in infancy. I was able to watch Carmel grow up to be a fine person. I miss them all the time, but I focus on the fact that I still have a family, a daughter and two sons. In the end, I say thank you for what I had in the past and for what I have left.”
With his exceptional outlook and attitude of positivity, we are certain that Aviad will be able to move forward and help his children live productive lives despite the pain of the past. We stand in awe of Aviad and are grateful that ADI is part of his emotional and physical rehabilitation.
