Son in shock, disbelief after random C-Train attack leaves his mom in critical condition

Allan Hein said he's still in shock after a random attack at a C-Trainstation this week left his mother in critical condition.

Hein said his mom, 64-year-old Rozalia Meichl, was on her way home after an outing with her friend Thursday afternoon, when she wasattacked by a stranger and shoved off the Victoria Park LRTStation platform and onto the tracks as the train was arriving.

The train was able to stop just in time before hitting her.

• Woman in 60s hurt badly after being pushed onto LRT tracks by stranger

Meichlwas in life-threatening condition when she first arrived in hospital, but her condition has since been upgraded to critical.

Hein said he got the call from his sister and rushed to the hospital, where he learned what had happened.His first reaction was "disbelief. And I think shock, more so just because of how much of a loving person my mom is."

"Just shocked that somebody would do that to somebody especially an old person with physical disabilities," he said.

Stephanie Favel, 35, has beencharged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and breach of probation in the attack.

Hein said his mom, despite living on disability due to a spinal condition, was the kind of person who would "give the shirt off her back" to help others.

"She's a thoughtful person and very selfless, which is what made it trickier to digest," he said.

She's been able to communicate with her family through "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" and has written some messages like "I love you and the family" on a whiteboard in her hospital room.

"She's alert to the point where she knows that she's not OK but she has no idea what happened."

Loved ones raising funds

A friend of the family has started an online fundraiser to support her, as doctors have advised she'll require permanent daily medical supervision once she recovers enough to go home.

"If she pulls through this she's got debt and that's the last thing I want for her to worry about," he says, unsure about what condition his mother will be in if she recovers.

Hein said the thing he's struggling most with is that the woman accused of attacking his mother was also accused of a seemingly random attack just three years ago but the charge was withdrawn.

"Like my wife says, I've got to channel my frustration and anger and put it into a positive spin and be thankful mom's still alive, but it's really really hard," he said.

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