“ There are rays of hope ”: hopes of neurosurgeon on the 12 -year recovery drawn to Annunciation Church

The father of a 12 -year -old child who is still hospitalized after being killed at Annunciation church last week spoke publicly for the first time on Friday.

Sophia Forchas is still hospitalized to the pediatric Usi of Hennepin Healthcare in critical condition.

“To achieve such atrocity against innocent children, the children who prayed during mass, is unfathomable,” said Tom Forhas, Sophia’s father.

He added that the last 10 days have been among the longest and most difficult in family life, and also thanked all those who helped Sophia, giving her a “chance of combat”.

According to a gofundme, Sophia’s younger brother was inside the school during mass fire. Fortunately, he was physically unscathed.

Forchas extended his greatest condolences to the Merkel and Moyski families, adding that his 9 -year -old son had only good things to say about Fletcher and Harper.

According to the words of his son, Forchas described Harper as kind, with many friends and fletcher like someone who is good in everything he does and a friend to all.

Sophia’s mother is also a pediatric intensive care nurse at Hennepin Healthcare and arrived to help the mass incident, not yet aware that her daughter was one of the victims. Forchas said that his wife had not left Sophia and had been attentive to his care.

Forchas implored anyone who would listen to pray: pray for sophia and pray for peace.

“And when you pray, move your feet. Move your feet means one step at a time. It means offering your time.

Tom Forchas

Dr. Walt Galicich, a neurosurgeon, also updated Sophia’s state.

“I’m going to be frank, Sophia is still in critical condition in the intensive care unit. There is a chance that it is the third death of this event,” he said. “But the door was a little open and there are rays of hope that shine.”

When he met Sophia last Wednesday, pressure in his brain was very high, he said. Sophia has been shot in her left temporal lobe, and the ball is still housed in her right occipital lobe.

Part of the Sophia skull was removed to give it a brain room to swell.

“If you had told me at this stage ten days later that we would be here with any radius of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle,” added Galicich.

The ball injured several critical ships in Sophia’s brain, but Galicich said that his analyzes seemed as good as you expect.

It remains in the pediatric USI, where it was in a medically induced coma and has even undergone a stroke. But the pressure in his brain improves and the medical staff allowed him to be awake for short periods.

There are several rays of hope, said Galicich. Sophia was determined on the left side of her body, there was a slight movement in her right leg, and she opened her eyes. The pressure in his brain has also improved and Galicich hopes that she will remain at a healthy level.

“I don’t know what her permanent deficits will be, but we are a little more optimistic that she will survive,” he said.

“Sophia is strong, Sophia is fighting,” added Forchas. “And Sophia will win this fight for all of humanity.”

Galicich also hoped for change.

“I hope that one day we will be able to pass through the thick skulls of politicians how terrible it is to tell the parents of a 12-year-old child that their child was shot,” he said. “I hope it can cross their skulls, this message, as well as some of these bullets.”

You can find the full KSTP coverage of the Annunciation church shooting HERE.