Survivor of Lynn Valley attack says she's been overwhelmed with kindness from North Vancouver community

Twenty-three-year-old Emma Henderson has lived her entire life in Lynn Valley, but it’s a place she’s learned to appreciate in a new way over the course of the past year.

The community has shown her overwhelming kindness and support in the aftermath of the shocking attack of March 27, 2021 said Henderson – many of those gestures of support from people she doesn’t even know.

A little over a year ago, the then-22-year-old (who’d previously attended Argyle and Carson Graham secondaries) was living a pretty regular life as a student, studying remotely at Simon Fraser University while working part time. She was looking forward to winding up her last semester at SFU.

All that changed when she became one of seven people attacked in the middle of the day at Lynn Valley’s library complex. Since then, “My life has been pretty different,” she said.

The details of that day aren’t a place she wants to dwell.

But from the very beginning, the caring of those close by was apparent, said Henderson.

Help was close at hand

“There was one guy who took his shirt off and covered my face, my injuries,” she said. “There were a few people – I can’t remember their names and I couldn’t really see their faces – who came to my aid. There were people who were helping me right from the get go.”

After she was released from hospital and began recovering at home, Henderson said she heard about the piles of flowers growing at the library plaza as messages from well wishers poured in.

In addition to public donations that went to all immediate victims of the attack, a separate GoFundMe account for Henderson raised more than $43,000 to help with expenses.

“The kindness and support, it’s overwhelming,” she said.

For the past year, Henderson has been focusing on recovering from her injuries, both physical and emotional. She has been cautious about her privacy and chooses her words with care.

There are also times she’s had to step away from social media and turn off the news.

She’s lucky, she says, that she’s had family, friends, and compassionate doctors to take care of her.

“It’s a lot to wrap your head around,” she said.

Henderson said she hasn’t been back to the Lynn Valley library yet. Instead, she chose to spend this Sunday, the anniversary of the shocking events, off the North Shore, enjoying the day with family.

“It’s a hard day for everybody,” she said, including the wider community of Lynn Valley and the North Shore.

Focusing on the future

And while her long-term recovery will be a slow process, “I’m doing well for the most part,” she said.

“I'm at a place where I am happy to be out, just enjoying Lynn Valley again. ... The fact that I'm able to ... have a coffee, and just walk around – that is something I'm happy to be able to do.”

These days, Henderson said she prefers to look forward rather than backwards, “to the happier times that are coming for me” – including her upcoming university graduation ceremony and the next steps in her life.

The support she’s received has “meant a lot,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop saying thank you for it.”