"They thought I would never work again but I will go back after I have an operation to get an artificial hand and leg," Chidiac said on LBC TV where she is known for her morning program 'Naharkum Said' or 'have a nice day'

"I cannot tell you about my journey of suffering. Perhaps the country was in need of a leg with which to kick all those evil people who do not love this country and who are working against it, and a hand with which to lift the weights off the back of this country," she said in the brief appearance from her hospital room.

"Perhaps it was my fate to be a part of this big sacrifice," she added.

Known for her courage in criticizing Syria , when no one could utter the word, the 40-year-old journalist ,dubbed a "living martyr of freedom of speech" in the Lebanese media , was seriously wounded on September 25 when a bomb placed in her car exploded north of Beirut.

With much courage and a smile on her face, Chidiac described the assassination attempt. She said she entered her Range Rover and turned to the back seat to place some things that she carried with her - blessed water and a picture of St. Charbil, when someone "pressed a button" and detonated a bomb in her vehicle.

Chidiac said: "In a split second, I flew and found myself on the backseat, dragging myself to get out (of the car). I saw my severed arm in front of me, praying they would be able to sew it back. What I didn't realize was that I had also lost my leg," she said

She had one leg and one hand amputated and has undergone some 20 operations since the attack which drew widespread international condemnation. No one dared to claim responsibility for this wicked attack on her life and no perpetrators have not been found or arrested.

Grateful for the support of LBC Management she said "I will never forget the LBC president and director general Pierre Daher, who would exert all efforts to help any member of the corporation".

Chidiac , with her signature smile and a moving voice told her audience:
"I am going to get an arm, a leg, whatever ... and I can tell you that I will be back," she added, "I miss you, and it won't be long before I return to you,"

Lebanon was plagued by a series of attacks between October 2004 and September 2005, notably the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri in a massive February 14 bomb blast which also claimed 22 other lives.

Minister Marwan Hamade before May also survived an assassination attempt. Like Chidiac he underwent many operations, but he is back and very active and with his known smile, but Samir Kassir, the prominent An Nahar Columnist was not as lucky and did not survive the assassination.

Sources: Ya Libnan, LBC, Agencies