“Her parents are by her side, holding onto hope while also trying to support their son through the emotional aftermath,” the statement continued. “The financial strain is enormous: ongoing ICU care, future surgeries, trauma counseling, lost income, travel, and the countless unknowns that lie ahead.”
The GoFundMe’s goal is to raise $1,250,000 to help the Forchas family with Sophia’s medical expenses, counseling and support for the family, lost wages, and trauma counseling for the children. As of this writing, $1,151,352 has been raised.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich talked about Sophia’s condition at a news conference on Sept. 5. At that time, Sophia was in critical condition at the ICU at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Galicich, who was emotional throughout his update, said there was a chance “she may be the third fatality of this event. But the door’s been opened a little bit, and there are some rays of hope shining through.”
“If you had told me at this juncture 10 days later that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope,” said Galicich, “I would have said it would take a miracle.”
Galicich said that Sophia was shot in her left temporal lobe and that the bullet remains lodged in her right occipital lobe. The operating team removed the left half of Sophia’s skull to allow her brain room to swell.
The bullet injured a “very important blood vessel,” resulting in a stroke. Galicich said that the medical team was monitoring the pressure on Sophia’s brain and keeping her in a medically induced coma for periods of time.
Sophia’s father, Thomas, spoke next, calling the shooter a “coward” and the act of shooting children in prayer “unfathomable.”
“Sophia is kind, she is brilliant, she is full of life, she is an innocent child who was attacked while in prayer,” he said, while describing the devastation his family is experiencing. Thomas took time to thank his wife, everyone who had helped Sophia get to the operating room quickly, and Galicich and Sophia’s medical team.
He went on to say, “It is nothing short of miraculous to know that millions of people have lifted her name in hundreds of millions of prayers.” The family has heard of people praying for Sophia in Oslo, Norway; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; Santiago, Chile; Vietnam; Canada; Greece; San Francisco; and Minneapolis.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said the father, “for each and every one of those prayers.” He also thanked clergy from the Orthodox and Catholic churches for leading prayers on Sophia’s behalf. “Your spiritual support has carried us through the darkest days,” he said.
Thomas extended his condolences to the families of Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, the children who were murdered. He ended his comments by “imploring the world” to continue to pray with “fervor” for his daughter. “And when you pray, move your feet,” said Thomas, explaining that means taking actions such as donating blood, volunteering one’s time, and listening to someone who is hurting.
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