Netanya toddler who spent minutes underwater begins kindergarten after months of recovery

Noya Haya Sabag, 3, who nearly drowned in a hotel pool in Netanya during the 12-day Israel-Iran War and was unconscious for seven minutes, has started kindergarten after a long and complex recovery process, the Ynet news outlet reports.

Noya had just eaten ice cream and vanished from the side of her mother, Maayan, who eventually found her at the bottom of the pool. She jumped in to rescue her and pulled her out of the water, unconscious. At the same time, there was a siren warning of incoming rockets from Iran, increasing the panic.

Maayan’s husband, Michael Sabag, a volunteer medic with United Hatzalah, received a dispatcher call about a nearly drowned child in a Netanya hotel, unaware that it was his own daughter. He understood he was headed to treat Noya only after a relative’s phone call. When he arrived, rescue teams were already performing CPR. They stabilized her and took her to Laniado Hospital in Netanya.

After a stay there and then at Rambam Medical Center’s fortified underground hospital, she was transferred to Loewenstein Rehabilitation Center, where she underwent intensive physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, emotional support, medication management, and age-appropriate educational activities.

Dr. Sharon Shaklai, director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Department at Loewenstein, says that Noya’s brain injury was of moderate severity. “The most common injury after near-drowning is an anoxic brain injury, caused by a complete lack of oxygen, which leads to widespread damage to brain cells,” she explains. The symptoms may include significant cognitive difficulties, unclear speech, vision problems, and a risk of paralysis in the limbs.

In early September, Noya was discharged and began attending kindergarten independently. She can now walk, climb stairs, and play like a child her age, though she still needs help with speech and long-term cognitive monitoring. Loewenstein staff say her progress is remarkable, especially compared to many other children who suffered severe brain injuries after nearly drowning.

The doctor urges parents to remember that young children are at the highest risk near water and that constant supervision is essential.