Mom of two Manal Srouji who was hit by a speeding GO Train at Long Branch Station says she is lucky to be alive even though she can’t sit up in bed from pain and what will be a long recovery.
Srouji, 46, who has two boys, one 22, says she is a careful person who routinely used public transportation to get from home to work.
She lives in Mississauga and works downtown as a court reporter for the Ministry of Attorney General.
All that changed last September 17, when around 8:15 a.m. she was hit by a train and rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Manal Rouji does not remember being hit by the multi-tonne train and has the love of her family and community members.
She is thankful to be helped on the platform by kind-hearted passengers.
Srouji was left face-down on the yellow strip on the platform with half her body hanging over the edge.
She remained on life support for at least a week, unable to move or speak. She had two broken legs and multiple fractures, including to her pelvis and elbow.
‘I can’t even sit up in bed,” Srouji told Global News reporter Shallima Maharaj in a bedside interview.
She has regained her ability to talk and can move her upper body. She cannot remember the moment the train hit her, or the hour it happened.
Almost $14,000 has been raised on a Go Fund Me page to help the ailing family.
A bedridden Srouji has the loving support of her sons and from members of the community, who have kept her going.“
More than $14,000 has been raised on a Go Fund Me page to help the family in these trying times.
I’m overwhelmed, not just by the support that I’m seeing from loved ones, but even members of the community I don’t even know,” she told Global News on October 17. “The response, the reaction from people — it’s just a lot.”
She was told her backpack got caught on a passing express train at the station, but few details have been released about what transpired at the station.
The mother and wife would like to see more safety measures implemented to protect riders.
Many Long Branch residents have been complaining about the packed trains, ongoing construction and risky conditions from ongoing construction at the station which is being refurbished.
“September is when everybody comes back,” she told Global News. “More kids to school, a lot of people came back to work in person after that, so there’s a lot more people on the platforms.”
A major construction project has been underway at the station since last year, as part of the GO Expansion program.
“I made friends with passengers that came to visit me that tell me how they hear young kids wondering what happened to that lady that got injured in the accident. You know, I’m thankful, but I’m also concerned.”