Sophia Forchas, a 12-year-old girl critically injured in a deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis last month, is making “miraculous” progress in her recovery, her family said.
“Sophia is winning! Your Prayers are working,” her family said in a Monday statement through Hennepin Healthcare.
Forchas was shot in the head Aug. 27, when an assailant opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. She had been in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center until Sept. 11, when she was elevated to serious condition.
Her family noted in Monday’s statement that her medical team is preparing to transfer her from acute care to an inpatient rehabilitation program. In a GoFundMe page launched after the shooting, the family noted that Sophia’s younger brother was also inside the school at the time.
“Though she still has a long journey ahead, filled with extensive therapy, her resilience continues to inspire hope at every step,” they added. “Sophia is strong, brave, and unwavering in her fight toward healing. We ask that you continue to pray for her as she walks this road to recovery.”
During a news conference Sept. 5, Forchas’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Walter Galicich, said she was shot in the left temple and the bullet remained lodged in her right eye. The doctor noted that the pressure in the 12-year-old’s brain was “very high.”
“If you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would’ve said it would take a miracle,” Galicich said.
Two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, were killed in the shooting. Twenty-one others were injured: 18 children and three adults. The accused shooter died after a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Source: The Hill - News
