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 Canadian Terry Schwarzfeld was the victim of an attack in Barbados. (Handout) |
OTTAWA -- While Terry Schwarzfeld lay in a coma in a Barbados hospital yesterday, Ottawa's Jewish community prayed for her recovery.
Schwarzfeld is a well-known member of the community, which was devastated by the brutal attack she and her daughter-in-law suffered on a Barbados beach last Saturday.
Schwarzfeld remains in critical condition after she and Guelph resident Luana Cotsman were robbed and beaten by a man with a piece of wood as they walked an isolated stretch of beach while vacationing.
Cotsman, who was with her husband David and toddler son Benjamin, was knocked unconscious but came out of it while still on the beach, her father-in-law, Stephen Cotsman, wrote in an e-mail to family and friends.
'STRESSED BUT OK'
"She suffered from minor bleeding at the base of her skull close to her spine as well as heavy bruising on one arm. She is sore, exhausted, stressed but OK," he wrote.
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Cotsman was released from hospital yesterday.
Schwarzfeld was knocked unconscious by one or two blows to the back of her head. She didn't regain consciousness and was heavily sedated at the hospital to reduce the chance of any further damage. She is in critical condition, her brain is swelling and bleeding, she's already had several CAT scans and will be kept sedated at least until she can be safely transported back to Ottawa, Cotsman said.
"We can only wait and hope for her recovery," he said.
Schwarzfeld, past executive director of Agudath Israel Synagogue, was recently named president of the Canadian chapter of Hadassa-WIZO, a charitable, international Jewish women's organization nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
The organization was "devastated" by the news of the attack on Schwarzfeld, said Hadassah International president Helaine Ohayon.
"(Terry Schwarzfeld) is a most passionate and professional president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO," Ohayon wrote in an e-mail to the Sun.
Word of the attack spread quickly through the Jewish community yesterday.
'DEDICATED VOLUNTEER'
"There isn't a person in the community who I have spoken to today who isn't feeling devastated," said Mitchell Bellman, president of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.
"She is very well-known and well-liked ... We're all praying for good news."
Schwarzfeld's position with Hadassa-WIZO speaks to the quality person she is, he said.
"Their charitable work galvanizes Jewish women around the world. You don't rise to a position of national leadership in an organization like this by happenstance. It was through a lifetime of dedicated volunteer work and communal leadership -- which are values she exemplifies."
Schwarzfeld and husband Stephen Cotsman, managing director of the CBC's pension plan, have lived on Lynhurst Ave., behind Mooney's Bay, for many years. The couple has three sons, David, Adam and Simon.
Barbados Police haven't made any arrests yet.
"We have strong support here in Barbados by the police, tourism authority, the Canadian High Commission, our neighbours and the local people," Cotsman said.
"If we all have her in our thoughts, it will help."