As soon as vascular surgeon Adib Khanafer received the call March 15, he started running toward the operating theater at Christchurch Hospital. At that point, he had no idea a white supremacist had slaughtered 50 people. But he could hear an urgency in the request for help.
"When I walked in, I found a young girl, a 4-year-old, on the table, with three pediatric consultants working on her trying to stop the bleeding," he says. "So this was a shock for me really. I just could not believe what I was seeing."
Khanafer, who is Muslim and knew some of those killed in the attacks at two Christchurch mosques, says he typically fixes veins and arteries on adults in controlled environments. Now he was confronted with a child suffering gunshot wounds so severe she'd been in cardiac arrest for 30 minutes before stabilizing.
In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, Dr. Adib Khanfer, surgeon of hospital Christchurch speaks during an interview with Associated Press in Christchurch, New Zealand. Khanafer says he was in shock last Friday when he walked into the operating theater and saw a 4-year-old girl on the table who had suffered gunshot wounds so severe she’d been in cardiac arrest for 30 minutes before stabilizing. Khanafer, who is Muslim, knew some of the 50 people killed in last week’s attacks at two Christchurch mosques. The surgery was successful, although the girl remains in critical condition. (AP PhotoVincent Thian)
"My immediate reflex is to think of my kids. I have four kids," he says. "My heart fell. I just couldn't believe I'm in that situation."
The girl was the youngest victim to be hospitalized after the attacks. A 3-year-old boy, Mucaad Ibrahim, died in the Al Noor mosque and was buried in Christchurch on Friday.
Khanafer knew what procedures he needed to perform, he says, but he called in a colleague anyway, both to cast a second pair of eyes over his work and for emotional support. After several hours, he finished the surgery. He hugged his colleagues and cried.
The operation was successful, although the girl remains in critical condition, and has since been transferred to a children's hospital in Auckland. Khanafer next sought to reassure the girl's father, who was also shot and injured in the attacks.
"He was very distressed. He could not believe it," Khanafer says. "He started to describe to me what happened when he picked her up. I said, 'This is now behind us. She's good. She's stable. She's going to go to the best place in the country. So you need to take it easy and concentrate on you getting better.'"
Khanafer says he's hopeful the girl might be released within a few weeks. It has made everything he has done in his career over the past 35 years worth the effort, he says.
"This is the thing I will remember forever," he says. "I am hoping that girl walks out of the hospital, and then I'll be very proud."
Khanafer says the attacks deeply affected his family. He knew a colleague and a patient who were killed, and his wife knew many more people at the Al Noor mosque who died.
"The hardest part for us is it happened in our church," he says.
In the days after the attacks, his teenage daughter, who was out of town at a sports tournament, texted his wife and suggested she remove her hijab, in case she, too, became a target.
"We got over that," Khanafer says, adding that the support he's had from colleagues and the Christchurch community has been overwhelming. He says he's proud of the leadership shown by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who declared Thursday that "military style" semi-automatic weapons would be banned.
In addition to the 50 people who died in the attacks, 48 others were hospitalized. Of those, 27 remain at Christchurch Hospital, including five in critical condition. Two more are in Auckland: The young girl and her father, who was transferred there to be closer to her. He remains in stable condition.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
