There are “rays of hope” for 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who was critically injured in a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, her neurosurgeon has said while claiming it is still difficult to predict if she will survive. Shooter Robin Westman carried out a deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday, August 27. Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed when Westman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic School during a church service. The shooter later killed himself.
Sophia is currently in intensive care at Hennepin Healthcare. Her neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, said at a recent press conference that a bullet remains lodged in her brain. This caused severe damage, including to a major blood vessel. The left half of Sophia’s skull had to be removed by surgeons to relieve the pressure inside her head.
“If you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle,” Galicich told reporters, according to ABC News.
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Sophia is being kept in a medically induced coma most of the time in order to control swelling, according to Galicich. She is opening her eyes at times, and showing some awareness of her surroundings. She also has a slight movement in her right leg. However, she is not responding to commands.
{{/usCountry}}Sophia is being kept in a medically induced coma most of the time in order to control swelling, according to Galicich. She is opening her eyes at times, and showing some awareness of her surroundings. She also has a slight movement in her right leg. However, she is not responding to commands.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s day by day, and I can’t tell you how this is going to end," the doctor said. "I know she’s had a stroke from that injury to that blood vessel. I don’t know what her permanent deficits are going to be. But we’re a little bit more optimistic that she’s going to survive.”
‘An innocent child who was attacked while in prayer’
Sophia’s father, Tom Forchas, referred to the girl as “my precious angel.” “Sophia is kind. She is brilliant. She is full of life," Forchas said. “She’s an innocent child who was attacked while in prayer. Words cannot begin to describe the terror and heartbreak that come with learning such devastating details.”
“Sophia has received prayers from across the globe," he added. "It is nothing short of miraculous to know that millions of people have lifted her name in hundreds of millions of prayers. We have heard of prayers from Oslo to Johannesburg, from Sydney to Santiago, from Vietnam to Canada, from Mount Athos, Greece, to Minneapolis, Minnesota.”
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Forchas further said that the courage, compassion and love of “everyone who has helped us through this nightmare” is helping them move forward. “Sophia is strong. Sophia is fighting. And Sophia is going to win this fight for all of humanity,” he said.
GoFundMe launched
A GoFundMe set up for Sophia and her family says the girl has "already undergone emergency surgery, and her medical team is doing everything they can to stabilize her.” “Adding to the heartbreak, her younger brother was also inside the school during the shooting. Though he was physically unharmed, the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event — and knowing his sister was critically injured — is something no child should ever experience,” the fundraiser says.
It adds, “Furthermore, her mother, a Pediatric Critical Care nurse, arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured.”
Funds being raised will be used for Sophia’s critical medical care and recovery, trauma counseling for both children, family support services and therapy, as well as lost wages for the family, says the page. At the time of writing this article, $1,050,638 had been raised of the $1,130,000 target.