Tal Singer, almost 28 years old, has been fighting for six years against the rehabilitation division of the Ministry of Defense.
First, so that they would determine his disability percentages, and later so that they would increase them and give him the tools to restore his life.
As part of his military service as a fighter, he suffered from a chronic pain syndrome that prevents him from walking.
His condition worsened to the point that today he can do almost nothing due to the intense pain in his legs, and he gets around in a wheelchair or on crutches.
His doctor did recommend that he buy a scooter so that he would be more independent and mobile, but because the disability rates set for him are lower than 50%, he is not entitled to participate in the financing.
Singer was born and raised in Kiryat Ono.
As a child he excelled in sports, especially soccer.
Until the age of 18, he played in the Hapoel Petah Tikva boys' team and achieved impressive achievements with it.
On the eve of his enlistment, he was offered to enlist as an outstanding athlete, but he decided to become a fighter.
"I was in a dilemma. On the one hand was my dream to play football, and on the other hand was the moral obligation I felt to contribute to the country," he recalled.
He enlisted in the Armored Corps, and in the summer of 2014, in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, they were sent to Gaza. "Those were difficult days.
Little sleep, lots of effort.
We almost didn't stop." There, on a solid cliff, the pains in his legs began. He thought it was walking fractures, but the pains worsened to the point of difficulty walking.
In his military service, photo: courtesy of the photographer
power struggle
Half a year before his release, he was profiled, and the military orthopedist explained that he suffers from myofascial pain syndrome, which is characterized by constant pain in different parts of the body.
After his release, he began studying at the university, but the pains got worse and worse.
He had trouble sleeping at night, was unable to attend lectures and had to drop out of school.
Singer was in pain all the time.
The tests and treatments he received also caused him constant pain, and therefore he turned to the rehabilitation department at the Ministry of Defense and asked for recognition of his disability.
At the end of a struggle, about a year ago he was given 20% disability for the syndrome and another 8% mental disability, and in total he received 28% disability.
However, since they are lower than 30%, he is not entitled to reimbursements for most medical treatments, and as mentioned - also not to finance an adapted vehicle that will allow him to get around.
"I enlisted in the army completely healthy and was discharged with a broken vessel. My life has stopped since the army," says Singer, "I want to rehabilitate, learn a profession, get married, start a family and get back to life, but I can't."
"I did all the blood tests, photographs and imaging that the committees required, with the exception of one very painful test, which would have caused me harm and contributed nothing to determining my functional limitation. The committee punished me for this, and there is no doubt that in the power struggle it waged against me, it won and I was left bruised and beaten".
In the last year, Tal joined the Beit HaLochem basketball team in Tel Aviv, and he participates in the games as a shooter.
Meanwhile they are enjoying a winning streak.
"I discovered how much I missed being part of a group dynamic, and I met people who became my brothers," he notes.
Roy Rosenberg, the coach of the Tel Aviv Beit HaLochem basketball team, says that "every time Tal steps onto the court, he proves that such a thing is not impossible, despite the pain he is dealing with.
From the first moment I saw him, I understood that he was a true warrior, and as time passes, he proves to all of us that there is nothing that can stand against him."
The Ministry of Defense responded: "The Rehabilitation Division is investing a lot of resources as part of the 'One Soul' reform to improve the service for the disabled in the IDF and those seeking recognition, in particular in the process of the medical committees.
Mr. Singer was asked to undergo additional medical tests to allow the doctors of the medical board to determine the degree of his disability.
Unfortunately, due to his refusal, the committee's doctors made a decision based on the medical information they had before them.
If he believes that the percentages of disability determined for him do not correspond to his condition, we will be happy to cooperate in obtaining the medical information required for the purpose of examining the matter."
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