One year later: Winnipeg lawyer adjusting to life after losing hand in bombing

WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg lawyer who lost her hand in a letter bombing one year ago says she is adjusting well to her disability and finding new hobbies, like horseback riding.

Maria Mitousis tells CTV News in an email that she finds the activity challenging but therapeutic.

She also says she was a big golfer before the bombing, and is continuing the sport by driving around in a cart with friends and putting at the end of each hole.

Other obstacles that she’s been working on include learning to write and chop food with her left hand.

Mitousis lost her right hand last July 3, when she opened a package that had been mailed to her downtown office.

A voice recorder inside the package exploded and she was rushed to hospital.

The blast also injured her face, chest and thighs.

“Everything happened so fast but, at the same time, everything seemed to be in slow motion,” Mitousis recalls.

“I remember thinking that all of this was so impossible. I knew that something had exploded in my hand but I had a hard time believing it.”

Guido Amsel was charged with attempted murder after three letter bombs were sent to the offices of lawyers who had represented him and his former wife in their divorce, as well as his wife’s workplace. The two other bombs were safely disposed of.

More attempted murder charges were added earlier this year in relation to a 2013 explosion at his ex-wife’s home.

Amsel, who has professed his innocence, is expected to go to trial next year.

Mitousis says the past year has had ups and downs. She has been angry, frustrated and full of pity. But she tries to stay positive.

“Someone told me that life is 10 per cent what happens to you, 90 per cent how you deal with it,” she says.

“For me, I see what happened to me on July 3 as this: I found myself in a situation I had no control over. What happened, happened. What I can control is how I respond.”

Speaking about her experience has been an important part of her recovery over the past year, she says.

She adds that she is transitioning back to work over the summer and plans to return full-time in September.

(CTV Winnipeg)