{"id":16357,"date":"2015-12-11T00:06:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T08:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=16357"},"modified":"2015-12-09T12:29:38","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T20:29:38","slug":"fighting-for-a-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/12\/11\/fighting-for-a-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting for a recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Classmates congratulate Oz Attal, second from the left, after he completed Alyn Hospital\u2019s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon.\u00a0(photo from Canadian Friends of BTJ)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This Chanukah, Boys Town Jerusalem is celebrating its own miracle. Student Oz Attal is taking an active role in the school-wide celebrations. Just over three years ago, the then-12-year-old boy was hit by a bus as he was coming home from day camp. With severe head and internal injuries, he was in a coma for six weeks. The moment he regained consciousness, he began an intense, painstaking struggle to regain his function and independence. Today, pushing a walker, 16-year-old Oz (Hebrew for \u201cstrength\u201d) has rejoined his class at Boys Town.<\/p>\n

\"photo
Oz Attal participated in the school\u2019s Chanukah celebrations this year. (photo from Canadian Friends of BTJ)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a day that Boys Town wasn\u2019t there for Oz,\u201d recalled his mother, Yael. \u201cRabbi Meir Linchner, dean of students, and principal Rabbi Elimelech Yaakov were at our side in the hospital almost immediately after the accident. Once Oz was conscious, the school sent a steady flow of classmates to visit him regularly. Even when Oz entered the Alyn Pediatric Rehabilitation Centre for what would become nearly a three-year stay, several teachers voluntarily came each week to tutor him. Although he could barely communicate, Oz clearly felt strong and loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching Oz dart through Boys Town\u2019s halls \u2013 and stairs \u2013 his mother noted that, two years ago, the doctors declared that her son would never walk again. Although Oz needs a walker for support, he cuts himself no slack when heading indoors or outdoors with his class. \u201cYet, with traumatic brain injury (TBI), no one can know the extent of the permanent injury,\u201d she said. \u201cFor now, Oz\u2019s left side is weak, and his hand shakes. Sadly, he has no long-term memory and no control over what he may say, yet he understands the academic material quite well. Most crucial, he has iron motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Oz began coming to Boys Town several hours, one day a week, accompanied by his mother. At the start of the school year, Linchner informed her that, for the four days that Oz is not in treatment at Alyn Hospital, he can return to his 11th-grade class, where Linchner himself is the main instructor. The classroom was then moved to a lower floor. \u201cAt first, I stayed at Oz\u2019s side in class and also helped him manoeuvre his way through the halls between classes,\u201d she explained. \u201cVery soon, Rabbi Linchner informed me that BTJ had made arrangements for a \u2018shadow\u2019 to accompany Oz for the year and relieve me.\u201d (At home, Oz\u2019s seven siblings await her.)<\/p>\n

Tears filled Oz\u2019s eyes when he first took his seat in class, Linchner recalled. \u201cHis 36 classmates received him with love and extreme patience. They are now learning an invaluable lesson in how to give of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, the entire class joined Oz in a moment of triumph when he pedaled to the finish line of Alyn Hospital\u2019s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon. Waving signs that said, \u201cOz the King!\u201d his classmates and teachers heartily cheered for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOz has been blessed with an extraordinary family and a fierce will to live,\u201d Linchner said. \u201cFor us, his teachers and classmates, it\u2019s an honor to be a part of the miracle of Oz\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Classmates congratulate Oz Attal, second from the left, after he completed Alyn Hospital\u2019s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon.\u00a0(photo from Canadian Friends of BTJ) This Chanukah, Boys Town Jerusalem is celebrating its own miracle. Student Oz Attal is taking an active role in the school-wide celebrations. Just over three years ago, the then-12-year-old boy was hit by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329],"tags":[5077,216,5078],"class_list":["post-16357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","tag-boys-town","tag-jerusalem","tag-oz-attal"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}