"I am happy," says Arel Halevi-Pearl, her eyes sparkling, "I retired after a record year in my career, in which I broke my records in the pool, won a silver medal at the European Championships and I am very satisfied with what I achieved. There were also misses and places I wanted and could have done more, but I Proud of my way, of my determination, of my strong desire that came true: to show everyone that I can do everything. Everything like everyone else and the best there is."
She is on the beach in Haifa, climbing the rocks with her crutches, not giving up, bypassing every obstacle, overcoming every stone - just as she has done and has been doing for 20 years, from the day she woke up in a hospital, paralyzed in her lower body and with a diagnosis that could have been discouraging: Transverse myelitis, an autoimmune disease that affects the spinal cord.
But Aral was far from despair, on the contrary: she got back on her feet, served in the 13th fleet, became an outstanding Paralympic swimmer and was awarded medals.
And now, at the beach, her Uri, and Ray, their dog, are standing nearby and matching.
They give her independence.
"I'm fine," she passes out, and a smile conquers her face, "I married Uri and I give lectures, I found a good job and I have a future. I have a great drive for life, I'm still looking for new thrills, trying to adapt to my new life, wanting to conquer more and more fields and be Satisfied as I was in the water. I fulfilled my dreams and now I am free for new horizons."
With the symbol of the Tokyo 2020 Games, photo: Osnat Phyllis Doer
Aral is very impressive: inspires from the first moment we are in her presence, very insists on her independence, knows exactly what she wants and doesn't look for any concessions.
It is very doubtful if anyone could have reached the personal and physical peaks she reached.
It's this tenacious nature of hers, her inexhaustible talent and optimism.
She was born 31 years ago in Alon HaGilil.
Eldest daughter to my father (58), an industrial and management engineer, and Lipat (57), an art therapist, nurse to Raot (29) and Itamar (23).
A beautiful and good girl, one who excels in studies, always a leader, full of life.
"As a child I participated in many classes," she says, "I was in basketball, for example. Not that I was such a great player, but I participated in a class at the local pool at the age of 5-6. I was such a nature girl, with good friends. Mostly a nerdy and opinionated student. But always very In a groove, with good energy and joy."
It was a completely normal childhood, which was suddenly interrupted on April 10, 2002, when she visited Grandma Leah in Haifa.
"I had some kind of virus, nothing extreme, and I was also living at my place at the time. And I remember that my grandmother looked after me because my parents were at work, and gave me hot chicken soup. And I was also with my uncle, my father's brother, and we watched Barcelona against Real Madrid on TV. I've always loved football. The game ended 3:2, I don't remember who, and that's the last thing I remember.
"I gradually began to lose consciousness. My parents came at night to take me home, to Alon HaGalil, and I don't remember the trip there at all. They immediately put me to sleep, according to what they told me, and there was nothing that aroused their suspicions. In the morning, my mother woke me up And seeing that I'm not coherent and I'm not talking really to the point. This turned on a red light for her and she quickly took me to a clinic in Zebulon. From there I was sent to Carmel Hospital in Haifa, and there, right at the entrance, I collapsed, I was in a state of collapse."
The medical team and Arel's parents realized that the situation was complex, and an ambulance rushed her to intensive care at Rambam Hospital in the city.
"There they already sedated me and ventilated me for four days," says Aral.
The doctors managed to stabilize her condition and gradually reduced her anesthetics.
When she woke up, she began to understand the magnitude of the trouble.
I tried to understand
"Something felt wrong," she recalls, "I told my father: 'I want to get up. Can you help me get up? But why can't I get up?' I ask, I'm hysterical, I'm confused. It took me a while to understand that I can't because my legs don't actually move. And dad tries to calm me down and tells me: 'Arel, you can't get up. It's better if I help you up.' And they really help me down to the chair and I cry And crying... but very quickly I also fall asleep. And father told me that it was like this for another two days: that I didn't understand what was happening to me and I kept asking questions and trying to understand, I slept, woke up, and again questions.
"I asked my father and mother if I was angry, if I said 'Why me? Why did this happen to me?'. They explained to me that my questions did not come from a place of self-pity but from a desire to know what was happening with me, from a place of control. I very quickly wanted to know if I would go again , for example, and very quickly I went back to being this good, functioning girl again.
"I was doing all the time, and as I was always a good student, now I became a good patient. They gave me very unpleasant tests, and my father said that I dealt with them like an adult. Part of my coping was denial. I always made sure to look after myself, to look good even in complex situations. I was very weak and I had to meet with one of the doctors. So even in my condition it was important for me to comb my hair, to look good."
"I was in Rio, I wrote that I was busy."
with Uri and the dog Ray,
"Strong drive to recover"
Arel underwent the arduous rehabilitation in Tel Hashomer.
Physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, a little occupational therapy.
She studied English and math so as not to fall behind her class, took lessons at Tel Hashomer (the hospital has a kind of school for hospitalized children), also had conversations with a rehabilitation psychologist, and above all, worked very hard physically.
"When I arrived at Tel Hashomer, I was in a wheelchair," she says, "I went through ten difficult and beneficial months, I had a very busy routine, but I must say that I also enjoyed it a little: an 11-year-old girl who is given a lot of attention, everyone around me, and also a lot of people came to visit me. I had a very strong drive to recover and stand on my feet and walk. This is what I saw before my eyes."
The restoration was a success story.
Within four months, Aral was already able to stand.
At the end of ten - she was already on crutches.
"I left with crutches and with partial paralysis in both legs and with such big steps," she recalls.
"At the end of the rehabilitation I even stood without crutches and took a few steps, and when I returned home and to school, already in the sixth grade, I only came with the crutches. No chair. I didn't like the chair, I didn't need the chair (today she only uses it for long distances; p "N), and above all I started to pursue the fact that I was going to show everyone how much I could."
she said, and complied.
The girl, who had to deal with a new body and an environment that tested her abilities, this girl made no assumptions and rushed forward.
And perhaps it is more accurate to say: swam forward.
How did you actually get exposed to swimming? Why did you choose her?
"Before the disability, I swam in the community pool, but as mentioned not professionally. Not rowing-breaststroke-backstroke. In my discharge letter it was stated that I should develop a healthy and sporty lifestyle for myself, which would actually keep my hands strong, my walking, my weight. So I rode therapeutic on horses, and a neighbor built me such a big bicycle with spare wheels. The swimming coach Noach Ram also lives in my community, and he knew me even before I became disabled. After what happened to me, he simply decided to throw me into our local pool and start teaching me to swim."
Very quickly, Arel arrived at the Ilan club in Haifa, where she began hydrotherapy for a year. At the club, she also started swimming for real. When she was 13 years old, she came to the legendary Paralympic coach Jacob Beinanson. "A new world opened up to me," says Aral, "between swimming and me, a love story developed True.
There I saw Inbal Pizarro entering the water in such a perfect style, breaking records and returning from the Athens Olympics (Paralympics) in 2004 with medals.
"My eyes popped out. As a child, it opened up a world I didn't know. A girl who is dealing with a new title of disabled, with a complex return home, and I have a new place of my own. It caught me and I took swimming very well, and it strengthened me in all ways: also physically , also emotionally, raised my confidence. It was excellent for me."
A record holder at the age of 16
Arel amazed with her performance, and very quickly joined the Ilan swimming team, and at the age of 16 became the record holder and the national champion in class 7 (the category in which she competes; p.n.).
She broke more and more Israeli records and was considered a gifted swimmer.
"At the National Championships in 2007, I did an excellent result in the 100 meter rowing, and it symbolized for me that I was really starting to be in the field of the greats in the world. This was a significant progress for me."
She continued to progress but only almost achieved the criterion for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in the 400 meter rowing - her strong event.
The next year was very significant in Aral's life: for the first time she participated in the European Championships in Iceland, where she also won her first medal (out of four medals in different European Championships) in 50 meter rowing (bronze).
The very hard work paid off, and Aral felt that she was realizing her great potential.
But she didn't want to succeed only in swimming.
That year she volunteered and joined the army.
With determination and courage she reached the 13th Fleet, where she performed a special intelligence role.
"I volunteer for the navy, for the navy, I do indeed do an intelligence role, and that's about all I can say about it."
You already have a career as an athlete, you are destined for the Olympics. Why did you want to join the navy?
"From the moment I returned home after the rehabilitation, it was very, very important to me to show how much I could and how much I did everything and like everyone else. And believe me, it had a price. I remember once I went on a medical training course, which was ten days in the field, and it was difficult for me .
"I put in a lot of effort there, after which I returned home and it took me almost a week to recover physically from this thing."
Were you satisfied with the military work in Sheyat?
"I think in the end not. I really liked the things I was exposed to, but I also wanted more there. I couldn't stay at the base and sleep there: the 13th Fleet is a closed base, and I did daily shifts. I did training at 6 in the morning, went to the army, and in the afternoon I left the base for more training. And I always want to give a million percent in the places I'm in. So in the army I felt it wasn't 100 percent because I was there between my training sessions and I had a tough and busy routine, but I can say that I did the army and was part of this system, which is a lot For me."
Halevi (in the center of the photo) with the staff of the Paralympic Committee and the Disabled Sports Federation, at her retirement party, photo: Keren Isikson
A little after the release, Arel achieved the criterion for the Paralympic Games in London (2012) in 400 meter rowing.
Even then Israel held the records in 400, 100 and 50 meter rowing.
"I learned a lot from Yaakov, my coach," she says, "I learned what determination is, what it means to fight tooth and nail for something you believe in, without blinkers and without excuses. There are no words that can describe Yaakov's investment in me, his dedication, and especially his faith in me and the swimmers His".
At the Paralympic Games in London, Arel came ninth in the 400 meter rowing, and did not advance to the final.
She continued in the pool and also reached the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
My coach there was Noach Ram.
"I learned from Noah's experience and wisdom," says Arel, "I got tools from him to be a better athlete and a more thoughtful person."
At the Olympics itself in Rio, Helevy-Pearl reached the final in the 400 rowing (8th place), and in the same year she also took a bronze medal at the European Championships in Portugal.
In those years, she was not satisfied with swimming only, but also turned to academia and completed a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University.
"What's wrong with them?"
Today Arel also has a great love, which started after the games in Rio.
Even in a relationship, the process was special and challenging.
"When I started dating, I felt that I could only date people like me. There were times, especially in adolescence, when I doubted whether anyone would really want to be with someone like me or be able to love me. But it was really in adolescence, when we all hate ourselves a little . After the army, I dated both men with disabilities and those without. Slowly, after a few relationships, everything opened up for me."
Does it seem strange to you at first that someone healthy would want to date you?
"Anyone who started with me, I was suspicious of him. I tried to understand: wait, what motivates him, what's wrong with him. There were times when healthy people wanted to go out with me and be with me - and I didn't want to."
Then Uri Perel arrived.
"Uri arrived before the Rio Olympics. We have a mutual friend - my childhood friend and his friend from the army. Uri saw all kinds of videos about me that appeared on the networks before Rio and decided to write to me. Only, he kind of forgot that I was already during the games in Rio when he wrote to me on Facebook. So I couldn't pay attention to him. I wrote to him that I was busy."
After she returned to Israel and Uri persisted and sent her another message, Arel felt she was available for a meeting.
It happened in a bar in Jaffa.
"I decided that I want to meet and see if it suits me," she says and adds with a smile: "I'm trying to understand who he is, and maybe also what's wrong with him and why I'm interested in him."
And it flowed to them.
Arel says that she met a funny and smart guy, their communication was good and there was instant chemistry.
"I also had my questions. For example, why do you want to date a girl like me? And I told him very openly what happened to me and how I got into sports. He asked me a lot of questions and simply said that I was interesting to him. We continued to meet and I felt that he saw me. He gave me Lots of confidence that I'm good enough as I am.
"And he didn't care what the people around him thought about it either. He wanted our relationship to continue, me too of course, and we managed everything. After six months we went to Thailand together, after a year we moved in together. I always felt that I was very lucky, how he came to me, Like - where did he land on me?".
And he is lucky too.
"I know he's also lucky, we both are, but I also had the feeling that I almost missed him."
When you didn't answer him in Rio.
"That's right, I didn't answer. A little more - and he was getting discouraged. When we met for the first time, he told me: 'I was very discouraged... I had already started talking to someone else. I was almost tired.'"
About a year ago, Uri and Aral got married in the pool in Alon HaGalil - the same pool where she swam for the first time as a little girl.
"It was lovely," she beams.
A little bit of freedom
2021 was an excellent year for Aral.
During her time, she amazed with her performance in the pool, broke her various Israeli records, won a silver medal at the European Championships in Portugal in the 400 rowing, also reached two finals at the Tokyo Olympics ("Unfortunately, I was sick and did not reach my full potential"), and of course married Uri.
A week and a half ago, Arel announced her retirement from the water and ended an extensive and successful career.
"I decided to retire precisely at my peak," she says, "I feel it's time to move on. I really want to thank from the bottom of my heart the sports of the disabled in Israel and the Paralympic Committee that throughout my career gave me a back and a mantle, and not only them. I also had psychologists and nutritionists and physiotherapists and coaches , and I worked with the best in the field. Now I want to focus and work in the field of biomedicine. I currently work at the biotech company Itamar Medical, in the research and development department."
Do you still swim, occasionally, for fun?
"I swim twice a week in the same pool I used to swim in, of Ilan Haifa in Kiryat Haim.
It keeps me physically and mentally.
This is very important to me.
I'm still looking for a new identity after I retired a few months ago.
A new place in life."
They now live in Haifa.
Uri works as an urban planner, Arel is a sought-after lecturer for adults and youth, organizations and companies in the economy.
"For the past six years, I have been an ambassador on behalf of the Athena Israel Center, which promotes women's sports in Israel. I wanted to be in front of tens of thousands of people and exposed them to Paralympic swimming and my personal story. It is a great honor for me to be part of the promotion of women's sports in Israel. Today I am already an independent lecturer on the story my life".
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us