‘Rays Of Hope’ Emerge For Potential Third Casualty Of MN Shooting, Stunning Neurosurgeon

The neurosurgeon and the father of a 12-year-old girl who sustained injuries and was hospitalized following the shooting at Annunciation Church last week came out on Friday and delivered comments for the first time, providing an update on the girl’s condition. It’s nothing short of miraculous.

As of this writing, Sophia Forchas is still in the ICU at Hennepin Healthcare’s pediatric wing in critical condition.

A GoFundMe page started for the family reveals that the girl’s younger brother was inside the school at the time of the shooting. Fortunately, he escaped the incident without any physical injuries. Sophia’s mom, who works as a pediatric critical care nurse at the same hospital treating her daughter, arrived on the scene to provide help following the shooting, unaware her daughter was one of the victims.

Dr. Walt Galicich, a neurosurgeon, also provided an update on Forchas’ condition.

“I’m gonna be blunt, Sophia is still in critical condition in the intensive care unit. There’s a chance that she may be the third fatality of this event,” he stated. “But the door’s been opened a little bit and there’s some rays of hope shining through.”

When Dr. Galicich first met Forchas last Wednesday, he found that the pressure on her brain was extremely high. Shockingly, the pre-teen was shot in her left temporal lobe, but remained alive. Currently, the bullet is still lodged in her right occipital lobe.

A part of Forchas’ skull had to be removed in order to allow room for her brain to swell as a result of the injury.

“If you had told me at this juncture ten days later that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would’ve said it would take a miracle,” Galicich continued in his update on the girl’s condition. He then revealed that several critical vessels in Sophia’s brain were injured from the bullet, but said her scans look as good as one can expect given the situation.

“She remains in the pediatric ICU, where she has been in a medically induced coma and even suffered a stroke. But the pressure in her brain is improving, and medical personnel have allowed her to be awake for short periods of time,” KSTP reported.

Galicich then stated that there are still several rays of hope. He said she’s been purposeful on the left side of her body, and there’s even been some movement, though slight, on her right leg. Sophia has also been opening her eyes. The pressure on her brain has also improved, and the doctor believes it will remain at a healthy level.