on Monday.

The 16-year-old was seriously injured and her twin sister Nina slightly hurt in a road accident in eastern Canada last weekend.

Yesterday, her father John Thompson said surgeons at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia were going to repair and realign her back.

He said she had already had major stomach surgery yesterday and was resting from the ordeal.

Nina, Mr. Thompson and the girls' mother Lei-Valli Thompson have all been at Erika's bedside during the days following the Sunday crash.

They have been flooded with messages of support from friends in Bermuda and around the world, he said.

"Everybody has been very very supportive and we are certainly grateful for their thoughts, wishes and prayers,'' he said.

He said there was a risk from the back surgery but added doctors were quite positive. Erika has full movement from all her limbs.

Following the surgey, Erika -- who attends boarding school in Halifax with Nina -- is expected to remain in hospital for ten weeks.

HEALTH HTH