Dr. Galicich, Forchas’ surgeon, said she suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her head, and the bullet remains lodged in her brain.
MINNEAPOLIS — The father of one of the Annunciation Church shooting victims gave an update about his daughter’s condition Friday, alongside the neurosurgeon who operated on her, saying 12-year-old Sophia Forchas isn’t “out of the woods” just yet, but she does continue to recover.
“The door’s been opened a little bit and there’s some rays of hope shining through,” Dr. Walt Galicich said. “… 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 said Forchas suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her head, and the bullet remains lodged in her brain. In response, surgeons had to remove the left half of her skull to give her brain the room it needed to swell, he said.
Galicich went on to detail Forchas’ injuries along the path of the bullet, which damaged “some critical [blood] vessels.” The surgeon said the team of doctors operating on Forchas tried to save as much of a critical blood vessel as possible, as well as stop the bleeding, before inserting a pressure monitor and relocating her to the ICU, where she’s spent most of her time heavily sedated in a sort of medically induced coma.
As of Friday, Galicich said Forchas has shown enough improvement to allow for her to wake up more.
“She’s very purposeful on her left side of her body, she’s got some slight movement in her right leg and she’s opening her eyes,” he said. “She’s no longer fixed and dilated, and the pressures in her brain are OK — and hopefully they’ll remain that way… We’re starting to get out of that worrisome window, but we’re not out of it yet.”
Tom Fochas, Sophia’s father, spoke next, thanking the first responders and hospital officials who were determined to keep his daughter alive, especially Dr. Galicich.
“To Dr. Galicich, thank you,” he said. “Thank you for using the talents God gave you to save our daughter. Without your skill, your precision and your attentiveness, Sophia would not be here today. On behalf of our entire family, Dr. Galicich, thank you.”
He also thanked others in the community who he said have helped his family “through this nightmare.”
“Your courage, your compassion and your love have carried us,” he said.
Galicich ended the press conference by saying he expects improvements over the coming weeks, but it’s possible the injury will have lasting neurological impacts.
“Time will tell, and hopefully we’ll continue to see some gradual improvements, but it’s just very difficult to say when she’s going to be out of the woods.”