Petra Anderson Recovery: Miracle Amid Colorado Shooting Tragedy
Amid the horror and tragedy of the Colorado shootings, there have also been inspirational and miraculous stories emerging as well. One such miraculous tale is that of 22-year-old Petra Anderson.
She was one of those who went to the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado to watch the midnight screening of new Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." Like 69 others that night Anderson was shot by lone gunman James Holmes. Anderson in fact sustained multiple gunshot wounds – four in total – with three to the arm, but the most serious to the head, with the bullet traveling up her nose, through her cranium and being lodged in her skull.
Anderson was rushed to hospital along with a flood of other seriously injured moviegoers. Doctors immediately believed that there was a high chance she would lose control of her speech and other cognitive skills.
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Her pastor, Brad Strait, wrote on his blog: "I spent all day Friday in the ICU with Petra and her family. Her injuries were severe, and her condition was critical. A bullet had entered Petra's face through her nose, and then traveled up through her brain until stopping at the back of her skull."
He went on to describe: "The doctors prior to surgery were concerned, because so much of the brain had been traversed by the bullet. Many areas of brain function were involved. They were hoping to keep her alive long enough to get her into surgery.
"The prognosis was uncertain-if she lived, Petra might struggle with speech, movement, and thinking due to considerable brain damage. With Kim, Petra's mother (who is in the final stages of terminal cancer), we simply cried, hugged, and prayed."
Remarkably doctors later managed to successfully remove the bullet from her head, and it was found that her brain miraculously had suffered minimal damage. Upon further investigation it was found that Anderson in fact had an unknown birth defect; she had a tiny vein of fluid that was found through her skull.
Doctors claim the bullet traveled through that abnormal vein, missing the vital parts of Anderson's brain, according to the New York Daily News.
Within days of the surgery Anderson has made strides in her recovery, being moved from ICU on Monday, and beginning to speak and walk again.
Anderson's mother has testified in an interview with the Sacramento Bee: "She could have lost all kinds of function [if] the bullet traversed her brain. I believe that she was not only protected by God, but that she was actually prepared for it."
An online campaign has since launched to raise funds for Anderson's medical bills, with a goal set for $250,000. As of 7p.m. Wednesday the fundraising had raised more than $183,000. To donate please click HERE.
