The Assize Court of Brussels began, Monday followingnoon, the series of testimonies of the victims of the attacks in Brussels. Béatrice de Lavalette is the first to speak. The 24-year-old professional athlete is in the departures hall of Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016 to join her family in the United States. The rider lost both her legs in the explosion.
“I arrived at the airport, I went to checking, to drop off my luggage. I had my brother on the phone. We talked and then I told him to go to bed, it must have been three in the morning in the United States. I hung up just before the explosion. I have no memory of the bomb, the only thing I remember is the darkness, ”says the young woman, still very moved.
“I woke up on the floor, looked right and left. I just saw my leg which was at a right angle. That’s when I realized something had just happened. I started looking for help, there was a lady nearby, her hair was burning. I turned them off by reflex and when this lady realized that there was someone next to her, she held my hand. »
“I was in red”
“I learned later that there had been a triage of the injured, to prioritize. I was in red, I was no longer a priority because they didn’t think I was going to survive… There were people calling for help and I did the same, in French and in English. I saw a firefighter so I raised my hand. He called for reinforcements, there were three or four of them. They lifted my legs, put my head on my bag before putting a neck brace on me. I saw light and darkness, I knew I was alive but I just wanted to sleep. I didn’t want to, I was afraid of not waking up, ”continues Béatrice, briefly interrupted by her emotions which resurface during her testimony.
The young woman, then aged 17, fainted and fell into a coma for several weeks. A long series of surgeries and a long hospitalization followed.
“I mightn’t believe, accept, conceive what had happened. The presence of my family, my friends, helped me at this level, ”she continues.
“It took a lot of mental strength for me to overcome these injuries, relearn how to use my hands, relearn how to live. »
“I joined the American national equestrian team. Today I’m fine, but it was hard, long work and I took a lot on myself,” she concludes.
