Doctors fight to save wounded soldier’s other arm

Ziv Shilon, the officer who lost an arm in an explosion at the Gaza border Tuesday, was in stable condition Wednesday, his doctors said.

Staff at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba reported that Shilon’s condition improved during the night and surgeons now hope to save his other arm, which was also injured in the attack.

Shilon was patrolling near a gate in the border fence on Tuesday night when a bomb planted by Gazan terrorists exploded, seriously injuring the solider.

During a lengthy operation surgeons were forced to amputate one of Shilon’s arms. His condition is now stable, they said, and he regained consciousness during the night. Shilon was being kept sedated and on a respirator in the intensive care unit. Surgeons were expected to operate on Shilon again on Wednesday to treat the damage to his other arm. Doctors said that other injuries to the rest of his body, caused by bomb fragments, were superficial.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with Shilon’s mother, Margalit and wished her son a speedy recovery.

“There is nothing like a son’s love for his mother. Today, the entire nation loves and embraces your son. We will do our utmost to assist his rehabilitation.”