Above: Toronto-born Fardowsa Abdi is recovering in Toronto’s Sunnybrook hospital after a successful surgery, according to her uncle. Cindy Pom reports.
TORONTO – Seventeen-year-old Fardowsa Abdi is recovering in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital after a medical evacuation plane flew her in from Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday afternoon.
Abdi’s uncle, Mohamed Hassan, said she went into surgery Sunday evening until 3 a.m. ET. Hassan told Global News reporter Cindy Pom that Abdi came out successfully from the surgery.
“She was here in July,” said Hassan. “Words cannot express the difference…for us to see her again in a gurney, heavily bandaged—but we are thankful that she’s alive…She is doing as best as she can given the circumstances.”
Sunnybrook said Abdi was sent for surgery after a trauma assessment Sunday night, and the medical teams continue to assess her “ongoing needs for care” on Monday.
“Ms. Abdi is fortunate to have the strong support of her family and community in the Greater Toronto Area, who will help with her recovery,” said the statement. “The family would like to thank all of those who have assisted in the transfer and care of Fardowsa.”
Abdi survived the Sept. 21 assault on the Westgate Mall, carried out by members of the Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab, but her leg was so badly injured doctors in Kenya said there was nothing more they could do to save it.
“The people who have done this to Fardowsa, the people who have done this to many other innocent children, women, men…those people are not human beings as far as we’re concerned,” said Hassan, who noted Sunday that there was no flesh or tissue left on his niece’s right leg.
VIDEO: Fardowsa Abdi’s uncle, Mohamed Hassan, describes what it was like to see her back in Toronto. (Sept. 30)
Abdi was shopping in the Westgate Mall with her 16-year-old sister Dheeman when gunmen took over the upscale shopping centre.
A grenade was directed at Fardowsa, but Dheeman also suffered an explosion-related injury to her hand and a gunshot wound to her leg. Dheeman has since been released from hospital and is recovering in Nairobi.
UPDATE: Foreign Affairs said Canadian officials “worked with the young woman’s family and local officials in Nairobi and Canada to facilitate her safe return to Canada” in a statement Monday evening. Spokesperson Ian Trites didn’t specify how the medical evacuation plane was arranged or paid for “due to privacy concerns.”
Sources in Ottawa told Global News on Saturday the cost of the flight may be covered by the Distressed Canadian Fund. Abdi’s uncle said Fardowsa’s father accompanied her on the flight from Nairobi to Toronto.
With files from Nick Logan and a report from Cindy Pom
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