Joshua Boyle and his family are in Smiths Falls after being freed from a Taliban-linked group that held them hostage for five years, officials in the country said Friday.
Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three young children were rescued in a raid carried out by Pakistani military on Wednesday.
The family was flown from Pakistan, to London, England, and then Toronto. They arrived in Smiths Falls early Saturday morning.
In a statement Boyle said, “wehave reached the first true ‘home’ that the children have ever known – after they spent most of Friday asking if each subsequent airport was our new house hopefully.”
It continued on to say “our daughter has had a cursory medical exam last night, and hospital staff were enthusiastically insistent that her chances seemed miraculously high based on a quick physical.”
The pair’s three children who were all born in captivity are facing a long, but by no means impassable road to recovery, psychological experts said Thursday.
The circumstances surrounding the birth of the children to Boyle and Coleman are horrific by any measure and present no shortage of potential obstacles for the future, they said.
In an e-mail to CTV News, Boyle shared two photos of his eldest son, four-year-old Najaeshi Jonah Makepeace Boyle, raiding the first refrigerator of his life, and a second during naptime where he is surrounded by toys.
Boyle said full medical checks for each member of the family are being arranged.
“God-willing the healing process – physically and mentally can begin,” he said.
With files from the Canadian Press
