UH/1181

Sisters recovery after Omagh bomb

Family simply happy they're alive
TWO LOCAL sisters, who miraculously escaped death in the Omagh bomb, spoke this week about the nightmare from which they are slowly recovering - and which so drastically changed their lives.
Still bearing the physical and mental scars from the terrible August 15th atrocity, Laura Hamilton (14) and her younger sister, Nicola (12), bravely recalled the day in which their aunt and great aunt were also injured.
Laura who spent five weeks in hospital and Nicola, three weeks, are now settling back into their Kevlin Heights home, as they try to come to terms with the aftermath of the bomb.
Even the slightest noise unnerves the girls - particularly Nicola who is plagued with nightmares which force her to relive, over and over again, the horrors of that fateful Saturday afternoon.
Both sisters were seriously injured in the explosion and were discharged from hospital in wheelchairs.
This week they spoke about the effects of the bomb on their lives, their feelings of disgust for the bombers, and their sorrow for other families, like their own, who will never be able to forget what happened in Omagh.
Nicola, a bright, bubbly and sparkling girl, dreamed of becoming a model. But because of her terrible injuries and the multiple scars left behind by pieces of metal and rubble embedded in her back and legs fears she will now have to rethink her chosen career. She also sustained a serious knee injury which could affect her growth. She has also been left with a scar on the right hand side of her face.
Laura's longer stay in hospital has left her with a driving ambition to become a surgical doctor, after seeing at first hand the wonderful work which can be done.
Laura underwent countless operations and skin grafts during her five week stay, first in Altnagelvin hospital and later at Dundonald hospital.
Now taking inspiration from what she was privy to, the Omagh Academy pupil has her sights set on a career in the caring profession.
Laura had a six inch piece of metal embedded in her thigh and has undergone numerous operation for that injury and other leg wounds. Her progress was hampered with numerous infections setting in during the delicate process of skin grafting to her thigh and buttocks.
But the plucky teenager has to face another problem - not been allowed to bath or shower for at least three months due to the skin grafting - a "luxury" which she is sorely missing.
So serious were Laura's injuries, that she had to be airlifted to Altnagelvin Hospital to where later her sister, Nicola, was transferred.
The majority of both girls catalogue of injuries are from the waist down.
Laura sustained multiple lacerations to both legs and she still has a piece of shrapnel still embedded in her knee.
As well as her facial injury which required 15 stitches, Nicola sustained multiple back lacerations. Her right leg was also seriously damaged and her right knee broken. Her growth plate was also shattered in the blast. Special X-rays still have to be taken to see how badly damaged it is and to establish if it will affect her future growth. She currently has physiotherapy twice a week at home and both girls are still in a lot of pain.
Badly affected by the nightmares, Nicola sadly recalled that when the bomb went off, she thought "the world had ended" and she "was all alone".
And through the 'Herald' she would like to contact the good-samaritan who comforted her in her hour of darkness, until her distraught mother arrived on the scene."
"I do not know who he was but I would like to meet him again and thank him" said Nicola."
"All I can remember was that he was wearing a leather jacket and he was holding on to me" recalled the local High School pupil.
Every night Nicola goes to bed she knows the dreaded routine. Sleep eventually comes but is quickly interrupted by flashbacks of the bomb. She wakes up in horror, crying and screaming and has to be comforted by Mum.
"I want to forget all about the bomb and just to be ordinary again. I wish the nightmares would go away" said Nicola who confessed that she is really scared, now, of loud noises and hates the all too familiar sounds of bangers.
The bomb also cruelly snatched away the affinity the girls had with Omagh. Since their discharge they have only ventured to the town once and couldn't wait to get back to the safety of their own home.
Their Mum Teresa has remained remarkably strong throughout. But she admits she has been through a mother's worst nightmare filled with torment and anguish.
And although faced with a busy time ahead, catering for her daughters' every needs, Teresa is overjoyed to have her girls back home again.
Her day and that of husband, Trevor's, now totally revolves round the girls and their two other children, Adrian (11) and three-year-old Ellen.
And when asked how she was coping she immediately replied "You don't think of yourself. I am just so grateful to have them. I am one of the lucky ones. So many people died in the bomb, so many mothers left without daughters and sons. Yes, I am one of the lucky ones".
Teresa who spent most of her time at the hospital beds said "I had to be there for them. I knew they needed me".
Whilst the girls were in intensive care, Teresa and Trevor kept a bed side vigil, willing the girls on throughout their impending ordeal.
After five weeks, the couple had travelled in excess of 5,000 miles in hospital visits.
Since coming home, the chalet styled bungalow has had to be re-organised to cater for the girls.
Previously they had slept upstairs, but since coming home their sleeping arrangements have been transferred downstairs. Upstairs bathroom and toilet facilities also hold out untoward problems for the girls who are now managing to hobble around, in paid, on crutches.
But help should soon be on hand with the expected delivery this week of a stair lift which will enhance their quality of life.
The girls preferred not to speak about the bombers, except to say "I wish they could feel the pain of all those who died and were injured and the sorrow they have inflicted on so many people and so many families.
They failed to hide their disgust and loathe for the bombers but felt sympathy for the families of those who carried out the vile and cowardly deed. They were adamant that the bombers when caught, should never qualify for early release.
Like her daughters, Teresa also felt sorry for the families of the perpetrators.
"To bring up your son and for him to go out and do something like that must be terrible for them to bear" said Teresa.
The things which keep the girls going are their school friends who have been there for them - always.
Each one had a special friend they wanted to thank who had been with them throughout - calling at the hospital with words of encouragement and subsequently at home.
Laura paid special tribute to her close friend Claire Lipsett, from Fintona who was with her when the bomb went off.
"Her mum and dad have also been great, taking me up and having me stay most weekends" said Laura.
Nicola will also never forget her special friend, Adel Martin from Gortin Road, Omagh who she said was "a friend in a million".
The two girls also thanked the many friends who travelled to hospital to visit them and subsequently called at their home.
And they also thanked their parents and the staff at the various hospitals where they were patients, for getting them back on the road to recovery.
Laura was particularly proud of her father who helped the injured after the explosion.
"He saw everything that went on. He knows what it was like. He also helped a lot of those injured that day" she said.
"While I was in intensive care Mum and Dad stayed with me, practically every minute of the day" added Laura.
It was Nicola's mum who picked her up from the rubble, after running up Campsie where she was when the bomb went off.
Her Mum, with emotions running high, ran with her to an ambulance. At that stage she did not know the extent of either daughter's injuries but knew there were people more seriously injured than them.
Said Nicola "This was just a normal Saturday. It proves that anything can happen on an ordinary day".
Both girls are determined now to live life to the full - once they are fully recovered - and to do things for today - as tomorrow may never come.
Their great-aunt Mary Sutton from Fintona is still recovering at Dundonald hospital from her injuries and their aunt, Valerie Hamilton, from Hospital Road, Omagh sustained a serious eye injury in the blast. Like her nieces, she too has been discharged from hospital.

THE OMAGH BOMBING
I thought the world had ended
And I was all alone
When the bomb went off in Omagh
And destroyed what was my home.

There was an eerie silence as
I lay there on the ground
Afraid to open up my eyes
And see the carnage all around.

The glass and dust were falling
As the screams began to come
I opened up my eyes then
And so wished that I could run.

There were bodies all around me
Some crying out for help
It was the quiet ones who scared me
Just lying deathly still.

The men of hate and evil
Came to our town that day
They stole the lives of many
And left others just to pray.

They tore our limbs and broke our bones
And cut our flesh so deep
But more than that they broke our hearts
And they will always weep.

Laura Hamilton aged 14
Nicola Hamilton aged 12

Publisher: ULSTER HERALD

Ref: UH/1181

Published Date: 08-Oct-98