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Leila Bui returns home to Gordon Head after six months

Bui was hit crossing Ash Road by a black SUV on Dec. 20
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Eleven-year-old Leila Bui returned home last week, six months after being hit by the driver of a black Mercedes SUV outside of her home on Dec. 20.

Leila was struck a little after 8 a.m. in front of their home at the intersection of Ash and Torquay roads. She was crossing Ash Road to catch her usual morning ride to Arbutus middle school with the parent of a student who lives across the street when she was struck and thrown several metres.

Leila was in and out of a coma for weeks with intense brain swelling. She endured nine surgeries, mostly in those first few weeks, including a craniectomy to relieve swelling pressure of the brain and the removal of her spleen.

Leila is fed through a tube and is considered non-responsive as she is inconsistent in her responses to stimuli, often failing to respond. Her family continues to support her.

“After numerous surgeries and nearly half a year away from home, Leila is finally home! The six of us are finally together under one roof, a complete family again enjoying the ‘normal’ chaos of a house of four kiddies,” said her Go Fund Me update on Thursday.

Leila has three siblings, Quyne, 14, Myla, 9, and Jace, 6.

The family used the money from two Go Fund Me accounts to renovate of a bathroom to meet the girl’s needs, to purchase a wheelchair accessible van, and to cover costs of family travel to and from Vancouver to visit her while she was at Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children. The family also installed a new ramp in front of the house.

“Leila is a super strong and determined girl who has demonstrated to us throughout this whole journey just how much she wants to stay with us,” said the post. “She has come a very long way since that horrific day six months ago. She still has a long ways to go in her recovery, but every step, no matter how small it is, it is a step forward. Our family is always holding on to the firm belief, and am continuously hopeful that she will find her way back.”