Sometimes a report will come along that just fills you with hope, and Abigail Kopf’s story is one of those that is guaranteed to lift your heart and spirits.
Abigail, 14, was one of eight innocent randomers shot by Uber taxi driver Jason Dalton, in Michigan, on February 20. She was walking home from a musical with a friend on February 20, when she was shot in the side of the head. Abigail was rushed to hospital, while her friend sadly died.
The teen was treated at Bronson Methodist Hospital for her injuries, but she was declared dead by doctors in the operating room after her heart stopped. It was mum Vicki who held on to hope, after pressing her head to her daughter’s chest and hearing the faintest of heartbeats.
Abigail was put back on a ventilator and, later again, gave more positive signs when she gently squeezed her mother’s hand from her hospital bed.
Incredibly, Abigail went on to make a recovery after undergoing brain surgery and was released from hospital this week. Having been shot in the right side of the head, the shattered bone caused her brain to swell – something which doctors believe may have saved her life.
The teen is now recovering and preparing for a course of rehab, after which her family believe she will be ‘entirely functional’.
Speaking to local media, mum Vicki paid credit to her daughter, a ‘fighter’: “I don’t know if I can say it’s a miracle. I think she’s just one strong-willed child, that ‘I’m not finished yet’. And she’s gonna finish what she started.”
What an incredible turn of events. We’re wishing Abigail all the best with her recovery.
