A lawyer from Winnipeg who was seriously injured at work after a bomb exploded in her hands was in Saint John on Friday to describe how losing a limb didn’t result in her losing her voice.
Maria Mitousis was inside her Winnipeg law office in 2015 when the package bomb exploded. She says in the hours and days that followed she made an important decision to move forward.
“I think you can spend a lot of energy and go through a lot of emotional turmoil being angry at the cards you've been dealt,” says Mitousis.
Despite critical injuries and losing a hand, Mitousis came to terms with what happened to her.
“I knew right away that I wanted to go to work,” she says. “I think in the earliest days it was more emotionally driven that I wanted to get back and not in the way of who I am.”
That kind of attitude captivated the audience at the Canadian Bar Association's Women Lawyers Forum in saint john, where Mitousis spoke openly about her recovery and challenges.
“I've looked at it more rational, and I don't think there's any safety issues or any reason I wouldn't want to do what I do. I love what I do and we do important work,” she says.
The man charged with mailing the bomb will go to trial in the fall.
“I try not to think about it,” says Mitousis. “I know it is something I'm going to have to deal with when the time comes … I'm going to choose to deal with that when I have to.”
Another test the lawyer is confident she can handle.
“I hear a lot of women and other people who say things like, ‘I could never do that’ and I don't buy that. I think people have much more resilience than they think they do,” Mitousis says.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
