'Such is life': Ukrainian newcomer released from hospital, staying positive after random stabbing

Ukrainian newcomer Ivan Pylypchuck isn't one to hold a grudge - even after literally being stabbed in the back.

Recently released from a lengthy hospital stay after a random attack at an Edmonton bus stop, and in spite of the painful recovery still ahead, Pylypchuck is looking on the bright side.

"I can't be angry. Such is life," he said. "Sometimes it's terrible, but sometimes it's perfect."

The morning of April 13 was the former for Pylypchuck.

Less than two weeks after moving his family to Edmonton to escape the war in Ukraine, he was stabbed by a stranger from behind while waiting for the bus on his way to his new job.

The man who attacked him ran away, leaving a 27-centimetre knife in Pylypchuck's back. Losing blood fast, he clung to the bus stop and called 911.

"I understand if I will lay down and don't tell anything to [911], I will die. So much blood, it's not a joke," he said. "And then I heard the police came, and came ambulance and then I fell down."

The knife pierced through his back into his chest, nicking his heart. The stabbing and resulting infection put Pylypchuck in the ICU for almost a month. He lost part of his lung and he remains on 24-hour IV antibiotics to treat an infection in his heart.

Still, he's not harbouring any bad feelings about the attack or regretting his decision to move his family to Edmonton.

"It happened because of [a] sick person, it's not because of county or city or anything else," Pylypchuck said.

And, he added, the bad experience hasn't been without good on the other side thanks to an outpouring of support from friends, family and strangers.

Since the attack, the family has found and furnished a new home for Pylypchuck to heal in – complete with the gift of a piano for his wife, a piano teacher.

"People who don't know me, who don't met me once, they just came and help," Pylypchuck said. "Yes, it was a terrible thing with me, but it's a perfect, wonderful, marvelous thing with everything else."

A GoFundMe raised more than $127,000 for the family. Unable to work for at least another six months, Pylypchuck said that money will help pay rent and bills while he continues to recover.

Police have not yet arrested or charged anyone for the attack.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson