Dana Pinhasov, a 21-year-old Border Police officer, left her family home in Jerusalem to take Bus No. 18 back to her base. As they approached Jaffa Gate, a suicide bomber boarded the bus and detonated a 10-kilogram bomb. Nails, ball bearings, and bullets ripped through the crowded rush-hour bus, killing 26 people and critically injuring dozens more. In the explosion, the fuel tank blew up beneath Dana’s seat. Given the devastation delivered by the bomb, it was difficult for the rescuers to tell the dead from the living. On arrival at the hospital, it took hours for her parents to locate, then recognise their daughter. With extensive damage to her lungs and legs among many other injuries, Dana’s survival was uncertain for some time. Months of hospitalisation included 17 difficult surgeries and extensive, painful rehabilitation.

Dana eventually returned to work at the Border Police, striving for normalcy as much as possible. Young, scarred, and feeling ashamed, it was a difficult transition. Each day after work, Dana visited Beit Halochem Jerusalem where she swam and underwent physio and hydrotherapy. It was “the one place where I did not feel different or unusual and no one stared at my big, ugly scars. It is a comfortable second home for me.”

Two years after her injury, Dana married the man who had been by her side for her entire, difficult journey and their family grew to include four children. Recognising how much she benefited as a Beit Halochem member, Dana knew she wanted to do more for the disabled community. She became the first woman on the National Board of Directors of Beit Halochem Israel.

Dana also launched the Kids of Courage programme, with the support of Beit Halochem Canada. She is the volunteer coordinator of the initiative that brings 45 Bar and Bat Mitzvah-aged Israeli children of severely disabled veterans to summer camp in Canada. “I had nightmares for a long time after February 25, 1996, the day my world changed forever. Now, thanks to Beit Halochem, I have good dreams. My hope of changing and influencing the lives of many Beit Halochem families all over Israel is a reality. I am excited to plan the kids’ trip every summer and each time I cry with exhilaration when our children return.”