MINNEAPOLIS () A neurosurgeon is providing some hopeful news about a 12-year-old girl, Sophia Forchas, who was shot in the head during a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Though she is still in critical condition 10 days after the incident, there are promising signs for her recovery.
Dr. Walt Galicich has reported that Sophia is displaying slight movements in her right leg and has begun opening her eyes a little as she receives treatment in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hennepin Healthcare.
She was shot in the left temporal lobe during the August 27 attack at Annunciation Catholic School that killed two children and injured 21 people.
“To be direct… Sophia remains in a critical state. There is a chance she could become the third victim of this tragedy. However, there is a small opening providing rays of hope,” stated Galicich.
Sophia Forchas shows slight leg movement, left half of skull removed
The bullet that struck Sophia is lodged in her brain, having crossed between its two hemispheres. Surgeons removed a portion of the left side of her skull to allow swelling and have placed her in a medically induced coma to manage the pressure in her brain.
Galicich explained, “Sadly, the bullet’s path damaged key blood vessels and led to a stroke. It’s unclear what permanent damage may result, but there’s growing optimism that she might survive.”
The bullet’s location could impact Sophia’s language and communication abilities, but doctors are hopeful that her young brain’s ability to adapt could help her recover. Removing the bullet is considered too risky and is not expected to provide any benefit.
Tom Forchas described his daughter as “kind, brilliant, full of life” and thanked medical staff for giving Sophia “a fighting chance.”
“If it wasn’t for your skill and attentiveness, Sophia would not be here today,” he said.
A GoFundMe campaign for the family’s medical expenses has raised nearly $970,000 as of Friday afternoon. Sophia’s mother works as a pediatric critical care nurse and arrived at work to help during the tragedy before learning her own children’s school had been attacked.
“I hope someday we can get it through politicians’ thick skulls how terrible it feels to tell the parents of a 12-year-old that their child was shot,” Galicich said.
