One of several victims injured during a recent Catholic school shooting has returned to school as she and other students continue making progress toward recovery.
More than a month after the mass shooting at Annunciation School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that killed two students and injured several others, the family of one of the young victims shared an update that their daughter has gone back to school. In a Sept. 30 update posted to a GoFundMe page collecting donations for Lydia Kaiser, the family of the young girl announced that she has finally returned to school.
“Lydia’s first few days back at school have been filled up with love and lifting. She was so happy to be with friends and teachers and get back to learning and healing in community. She will need ongoing care for the foreseeable future, but she remains a brave little fighter, and she is feeling stronger every day. She has to take a break from her favorite sports, volleyball and basketball, and that is hard for her, but she will be cheering her teammates on all the way,” the update stated.
The family added that while the mass shooting “caused so much hurt in such a short amount of time,” “Lydia and the students, staff and families of Annunciation are committed to shining bright” because “the darkest nights produce the brightest stars.” The fundraiser urged Kaiser to “go shine bright.”
In an earlier post on Sept. 6, the GoFundMe page detailed how Kaiser was “walking,” “talking” and “fighting” while describing the young girl as “ever so brave.”
The first update posted on Kaiser’s GoFundMe page came three days after Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Minnesota to meet with the victims and their families. At a press conference following the meeting, Vance specifically requested prayers on Kaiser’s behalf. “If you’re the praying type, say a prayer for this innocent girl who’s actually in surgery right now, that the swelling will go down, that she will be OK,” he said.
A subsequent update published on Sept. 16 highlighted how Kaiser had returned home from the hospital even as she faced additional surgeries. Highlighting how many of her friends had already returned to school, the update requested prayers “that the procedure goes well” and that she would have a “fast and easy recovery.”
As of Tuesday morning, the fundraiser, which was established to cover “medical expenses, ongoing care, trauma counseling, lost income, and the countless unknowns that lie ahead,” has raised over $419,000.
Kaiser is one of several students injured during the Aug. 27 mass shooting, perpetrated by trans-identified gunman Robert “Robin” Westman, who are making progress toward a full recovery.
Sophia Forchas, a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head during the attack, has been released from the hospital and moved to a rehabilitation center in what her family has characterized as a “miracle.”
While Kaiser, Forchas and more than a dozen other students survived the mass shooting, two of their classmates did not. Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the attack.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
