Toronto van attack survivor grapples with legacy of incident months later
TORONTO — Beverly Smith has only hazy memories of the van attack that killed 10 people and left her broken and bleeding on a north Toronto sidewalk months ago.
But the 81-year-old Toronto woman grapples with the legacy of the April attack every day, as she adapts to life in a wheelchair and works to regain the independence she enjoyed before the devastating incident.
Smith, a retired teacher and librarian, awoke from emergency surgery to learn doctors had amputated both legs in order to save her life. She was also told she had suffered some brain damage, which her family believes may be to blame for her vague recollections.
“It hasn’t really hit me, only certain things,” she told The Canadian Press in a recent interview at the Toronto hospital where she continues to recover. “Like if I see somebody dancing or jumping, I think, I can’t do that anymore.”