Her loved ones are searching for answers after the incident at the Canal Street station on July 17.
"She's still on life support, her heart is still beating, but I'm not giving up hope, I'm still fighting," her husband Myint Shein said through a translator. "She's a very good woman."
Police say the 58-year-old victim was with her 22-year-old son walking up the subway stairs when a thief grabbed his backpack and knocked him down.
Mom in coma after attempted robbery
The force of the grab sent both mother and son tumbling down the stairs.
Her son, Kyaw Zaw Hein, said he frantically yelled for help and there was a lot of blood.
The mother, who worked as a seamstress making aprons, suffered severe brain injury.
She underwent surgery and remains in a coma at Bellevue Hospital.
Police are still searching for the man they believe escaped into the subway system after the attack.
It's not yet clear if any words were exchanged or if the victims were targeted because of their race.
They are from Burma and moved to New York City three years ago.
Her son says he now fears for his safety and is afraid to ride the subway.
"She meant the world to me," Hein said.
Click here if you would like to help.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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