Send Good Thoughts Her Way

A random number called me a few times on Wednesday day night. I was already sleeping and don't usually answer when I don't know who is calling me, so I let it ring. The person (who turned out to be my coworker) left me a message saying to call her back right away. Weird.

When I called her back, she told me that one of my kids was shot.


Woah.
One of my kids? Who was just in my class earlier that day? Shot? What?


Then I got a call from another coworker. She told me that my student was shot in the head while she was sitting in a car and now she's at children's hospital.



I saw on the news that a four-year-old had been shot, but kids getting shot happens way too much in the Milwaukee area. Other than thinking how terrible that was, I didn't think too much about it.


Now all I could think about was how terrible it really was. I felt so sad for my little 4ker. I didn't really sleep that night and my eyes were puffy the next day from so much crying. No child should ever have to go through something like this. All it took was the couple seconds of someone pulling a trigger a few times and this kid's life is drastically changed forever. She was happy, confident, strong-willed, and sweet. Now she has a brain injury and is laying in a hospital bed.

I visited her on Thursday after school. Even though she was very swollen, her head covered in holes and sutures, and tubes and monitors connected all over her, her mom sad she already looked better than the night before. Although her brain was swelling, her first surgery went well and she was doing well for her circumstances.

Today, she was taken off her ventilator and is breathing in her own. This little one has such a feisty, strong-willed personality, and it's showing even in her critical condition. With so many prayers coming her way, she has to be feeling everyone's love. Send good thoughts her way, please.