Hurt Together, Home Together

Sisters who were 10 feet from a bomb that ripped apart a London subway car this month went home from the hospital Friday, although each was expected to return for more surgery.

Emily and Katie Benton, of Knoxville, Tenn., spent 12 days at Duke University Medical Center recovering from wounds they suffered in the July 7 terrorist bombings that killed 52, plus the four suicide bombers, and injured about 700 others.

The woman one seat to their right was killed.

“I’ve tried as much as possible not to relive the moment,” Katie Benton, 21, said. “I don’t think dwelling on that time would be healthy at all.”

Emily Benton, 20, suffered the most severe injuries: broken bones and lost skin on her left foot and a fractured right hand. Her sister suffered shrapnel wounds in her right foot that exposed tendons and bones. Both suffered hearing damage from the blast.

Katie Benton said her lowest point in the hospital was being told the damage to her ear canal could mean permanent hearing loss, though not deafness. The news brought the otherwise optimistic woman to tears.

“This will be with me for the rest of my life, and there are permanent changes from it,” she said. “But it’s an adjusting process that I will learn to live with.”

The sisters’ trip to London was the culmination of a summer abroad for Katie Benton, who arrived in Kenya in early June. She was joined by her sister the day before the attacks in London, and the pair planned to vacation for a week before returning to Tennessee.

Arriving home in Knoxville, the sisters were cheered at the airport Friday by a small crowd carrying balloons, signs and gifts.

The sisters and their mother, Patty, flew home on a corporate jet loaned by Knoxville businessman Doug Horne, who said a close friend goes to church with the Bentons.

The sisters said they would return to England someday to complete their trip.

Katie Benton said she would not hesitate to venture into the London Underground.

Her sister, however, said, “I don’t think I’ll ever ride a subway again.”