A former Toronto Argonauts cheerleader who has been in an induced come since falling from a catamaran while vacationing in Croatia two weeks ago has returned home.
Anna Leibenko, 24, landed at Pearson International Airport with her mother by her side at around 6:30 a.m. and was immediately rushed to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where she is now undergoing a battery of tests.
“I am really happy that she is actually home now and I can just drive and go visit her, but her condition is still the same,” Leibenko’s brother Artem told CP24 outside the hospital. “She is in an induced coma, she has suffered multiple contusions to the brain and she also has a fractured nose, a fractured left jaw and a fractured left orbital and bruised lungs.”
Leibenko, who was travelling around Europe with friends at the time of the accident, did not have travel insurance, prompting Artem to create a fundraising website to help cover the $85,000 cost of flying his sister home and the estimated $25,000 in outstanding medical bills she amassed in Croatia.
That site ultimately raised more than $142,000 with the residual funds expected to be donated to charity if they are not required for Leibenko’s rehabilitation.
“I just appreciate all the support we got from the public,” Artem told CP24. “It relieves a lot of stress that she is actually home now.”
Irina Osminin, who was with Leibenko at the time of the accident, told CP24 that without the community support her friend would likely still be lying on a Croatian hospital bed away from family and friends.
“Words cannot even describe how grateful we are,” she said.
