The only time tears flowed during Fowsia Musse’s long discussion of an October shooting spree and its aftermath came when a reporter asked her about the help she got from others during her recovery.

Fowsia Musse sits Monday in the office of Maine Community Integration on Lisbon Street in Lewiston where she was the executive director before being shot while visiting family in Ethiopia last fall. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“There’s no amount of pay-it-forward that I can do in my lifetime, whatever’s left of my life, to say thank you to the people of Maine,” Musse said.

She said she got financial and other support from so many people she can never thank them all directly.

“From my neighbors to the mailman” to the staffers at the Lewiston offices of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, she said the outpouring was overwhelming and made it possible for her to get an air ambulance to return to the United States.

Musse said she owes particular thanks to her oldest daughter, Shadia Abdulahi; her best friend, Hawo Abdille; her uncle, Abdulkerim H. Said and his family; her own family; and the many medical professionals who helped heal her at hospitals in Ethiopia, Boston and Maine.

In addition, she said, “I feel forever indebted” to Elizabeth Haffey, the interim executive director at Maine Community Integration, and Abdi Abdalla, the assistant director, who met her on her return to Boston and worked tirelessly to get her assistance.