Ido Greenfeld is one of the heroes of Israel who depends on Beit Halochem Tel Aviv as part of his rebuilding his life after being seriously wounded in Lebanon. He notes, “ At Beit Halochem, I found a sense of shared destiny, and true friendships are formed.”

In 1996, he enlisted in the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Infantry Brigade. After completing his internship and advanced training at the Nahal base in Arad, he was sent to an NCO course.

“Upon graduating the course, I was assigned to command a sniper squad where I could train battalion snipers. I was also sent to a ‘Sergeants Course’.”

At the end of training, he and his special company went to Lebanon to hold the outpost in the village of Bint J’beil.

“As a sergeant, I commanded a squad of soldiers accompanying a team of Armored Corps combatants. We carried out ambushes and stake outs almost every evening.  As part of the infantry, we rode on special armored vehicles, similar to a tank but without the turret.

About a month after the battalion returned to Israel from Lebanon, he was sent to an Officers Course.

He returned to the outpost of “Biranit” on the Israel-Lebanon border, to command the soldiers assigned to the Lebanese civilian checkpoint entering Israel.

“When I finished at Biranit,” Ido recalls, “I went back into Lebanon to continue the stakeouts and ambushes from Bint J’beil… We set out on a two-day ambush. On the second and final day of the ambush, upon our return, I directed the driver of our armored vehicle to take a road we had not traveled before, since it seemed to be more accessible for crossing.”

Two minutes after beginning the drive on the new road, an explosive device blew up in front of the vehicle. The shrapnel blasted the upper half of Ido’s body: particularly damaging his abdomen and neck. He lost the vision in his right eye and the vision in his left eye was damaged.

After a month of hospitalization at Rambam Hospital, followed by Tel Hashomer, the doctors were able to stabilize the vision in his left eye.

Upon release from the hospital and after a period of several months at home, I began coming to Beit Halochem in Tel Aviv, where for the first time. I was able to get back into shape and regain physical fitness I had before the injury.”

In fact, he was able to go abroad on the big “After the Army Trip” to the Far East and after returning home, he began working for an Israeli satellite communications company (Gilat Satellites) in South and Central America lasting about a year and a half.

In 2003, he returned to Israel and studied Law at the University of Haifa. A member of the Israel Bar Association since 2008, in 1917 he opened his own law firm. Through all this Beit Halochem was helping him.

“The significance of Beit Halochem for me is immense. From the moment I was able to leave home after the injury, I began coming to Beit Halochem to try and get back on track, to regain my life as I knew it before I was wounded.”

Unfortunately, during the recovery and rehabilitation period, he had gained significant weight.

“I had to train seriously to return my body to its pre-injury condition. Beit Halochem and its facilities offer a wide range of options for returning to fitness. In my youth, I played volleyball, and it was natural for me to join the volleyball team at Beit Halochem, which plays and competes in a league of ‘regular’ players. In addition, I work out regularly at the Fitness Hall; I go out running, and recently have begun swimming lessons at the Beit Halochem pool.”

Ido is especially grateful for the second, and possibly more significant role of Beit Halochem: It is a real second “home”.

“I was glad right from the start to have received social and psychological support from the members of Beit Halochem.” Ido has stated. “I immediately realized that at Beit Halochem I am with people who are wounded like me and there is no need to try to hide the injury. I felt in the right place, ‘at home’. At Beit Halochem, there is a sense of shared destiny, and true friendships are formed as a result. Beit Halochem and its facilities allow me to enjoy myself and to move forward now and I hope in the future as well.”

Today Ido Greenfield is 45 years old, married to Michal and the father of three children.