Dear Family,
Last summer in during our Boston BFL delegation one of our BFL partners showed us an amazing anti-gravity treadmill that uses NASA technology to help those with injuries rehabilitate in a near weightless environment. The AlterG treadmill uses weightlessness to enable an injured person to walk and run without having to bear their own weight. With many dozens of our BFL members suffering from leg injuries, the AlterG has the potential of making a huge difference in their lives.
You can see two of our brothers, Lidor and Itai, who both sustained serious leg injuries in the 2014 Gaza Wa, using the AlterG treadmill last week in the photos below. For Itai, pictured in the top photo, it was the first time he ran since his injury!
This incredible device will be a game changer, and a huge thank you goes to our BFL Boston community and BFL partners who enabled this to happen!
Meanwhile the running continued last week as our BFL Triathlon Project ran the Israman in Eilat. The Israman includes 2km of swimming, 21 km of running, and 90km of cycling including a 1.8km uphill climb into the desert mountains. It was an experience of a lifetime.
The Triathlon project was started by David Ben Gigi who served together with Gili and myself in Duvdevan. In 2004, while on a mission to catch a wanted terrorist, David was shot at close range through his mouth. The bullet cut his vertebral artery and it was a miracle that David survived as the surgeons had never seen an injury like this before and he had lost so much blood. David’s wife was 7 months pregnant at the time of his injury and I remember our entire team holding our breath and praying that David would be ok.
David more than survived, and his starting the Triathlon project is only the beginning. As you know our goal at BFL in helping our brothers recover is only the first step. The next step is helping our members dream again, and helping other injured soldiers through their dream.
I want to thank each of you for making these dreams come true.
Shalom From Israel,
Yaniv