Monday April 8, 2019
By Alex Antoneshyn
An Edmonton teen is fundraising for a prosthetic after losing a leg during a trip to Somalia.
Grade 12 student Abdirahman Ali says he was the victim of a car bombing on Jan. 8 while visiting family for the first time.
Ali believes the bomb was planted under his seat as it detonated while he and a cousin drove away from a strip mall.
Ali woke up hours later in hospital. His left leg was missing. The shrapnel scars are still evident.
“It was a very big shock,” the teen recalled.
The family said they called the embassy in Canada for help with medical care, and were told the government couldn’t offer financial assistance. It offered to help the family book return flights at their own personal expense, which they declined.
Instead, Ali spent a month in a Mogadishu hospital before he was cleared to fly home to Edmonton and seek help from the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Without travel insurance, the family was left with a $10,000 medical bill. They’re also fundraising for a computerized prosthetic, which isn’t covered by the government, so Ali can continue to compete in sports, including the spring track season.
“I don’t want not having a leg to hold me back.”
As of Sunday afternoon, a week into the fundraising campaign, the family had raised $22,000 of an $80,000 goal.
“People we know and people we absolutely don't know. Some people not
even from Alberta and it's been absolutely amazing,” Ali’s sister, Adna,
said.
Global Affairs Canada said it was not initially aware of the incident, but was looking into it.
There is no Canadian embassy in Somalia.