As the parents of a Winnipeg girl who died after surgery last week prepare for her funeral, they are still waiting for answers from health officials about what happened.

Ashuza Halisi, 10, died just over a day after she underwent surgery at the Maples Surgical Centre for an umbilical hernia on March 11.

At the time, doctors told her parents the procedure was simple and Ashuza could go home shortly afterwards.

But after returning home that evening, she began experiencing extreme and persistent pain. She died in hospital early Wednesday morning.

Her parents say they were told by the coroner that Ashuza died from a pelvic infection due to a perforated bowel.

"Where did the infection come from?" said Ephemie Nyelele, Ashuza's mother.

The province's chief medical examiner continues to investigate Ashuza's death.

Ashuza's funeral will begin at noon CT at Calvary Temple with the viewing and church service. She will be buried later that afternoon at a local cemetery.

Some of Ashuza's classmates at École Noël-Ritchot, where she was a Grade 5 student, have written cards of condolence that they have given to her family.

"We have people who've known Ashuza for most of her lifetime," said principal Bruce Waldie, who added that a group of students and staff will attend her funeral.

Common procedure

The operation Ashuza had is common, but suffering a perforated bowel as a result of the procedure is rare, according to Dr. Brian Goldman, a Toronto emergency room physician.

"Major complications from an umbilical hernia surgery, which was the surgical procedure in this case, [are] probably on the order of one in 1,000. So we're not talking about a common occurrence," he said.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says day surgeries, including the one Ashuza had, are usually performed at private clinics because they don't require patients in those cases to stay overnight.

It's up to the surgeon there to determine if the patient is healthy enough to have the day procedure done.

The Maples Surgical Centre has been performing more than 1,500 surgeries a year as part of a contract with the health authority that began in 2006.