A woman who was shot in the head during the Las Vegas mass shooting has left hospital after what doctors say has been a miraculous recovery
Jovanna Calzadillas, from Arizona, will leave Barrow Neurological Institute Thursday in Phoenic and go home with her husband and two children.
Arriving at a news conference Wednesday in a wheelchair with her right side immobile, she smiled and said hello to reporters as she was lifted onto a seat in front of news cameras.
Jovanna Calzadillas was shot in the head and her husband there was nothing they could do and she had a ‘non-survivable injury.
Las Vegas mass shooting victim Jovanna Calzadillas, right, reads from a prepared statement with husband Frank Calzadillas, left. While considering whether to turn off life support, he had a dream that his wife came to him
The couple were celebrating the Frank’s return home from Air Force deployment in Afghanistan when they were caught up in the shooting
Declining to take questions, she instead slowly read from her own short, prepared statements.
‘On Oct. 1, a part of me changed that night,’ she said. ‘Even though I will not be the same Jovanna, I will come back strong.’
On the night of the deadliest shooting in modern U.S history, the 30-year-old mother and her husband, Frank, a police officer with the Salt River Police in metro Phoenix, were at the outdoor Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
They were celebrating his recent return from an Air Force deployment in Afghanistan.
Jovanna said though her life will never be the same, she will ‘come back strong’
They were cheering for country singer Jason Aldean when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort. He killed 58 people and wounded 851 others before killing himself.
A critically wounded Calzadillas was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Three doctors told her husband there was nothing they could do and she had a ‘non-survivable injury.’
While considering whether to take her off life support, Frank Calzadillas dreamed that his wife came to him.
‘She hugged me and kissed me and she said everything’s going to be OK. She just walked away’ he said.
Dr. Christina Kwasnica, right, describes the type of gunshot injury sustained by Las Vegas mass shooting victim Jovanna
So Calzadillas’ family instead made plans to fly her back to Phoenix for medical care closer to home.
She arrived at Barrow on Oct. 19. One of her physicians, Dr. Lindley Bliss, said Calzadillas could not breathe on her own, was on a respirator and that her prognosis was ‘pretty grim.’
The only positive sign, Bliss said, was that Calzadillas ‘was more alert than we expected.’
Dr. Christina Kwasnica, medical director of the institute’s neuro-rehabilitation center, said the bullet hit the left side of Calzadillas’ brain, the side that processes language.
So a medical team first focused on therapies for Calzadillas that didn’t require language comprehension but would at least strengthen areas of her body that still functioned. They also decreased pain medications and sedatives. This led to Calzadillas becoming more responsive.
Jovanna and Frank Calzadillas watch a video of her during a news conference prior to her release
Jovanna is helped by therapist Ammon Lovell, right, as she arrives for the news conference
By the beginning of November, she no longer needed a ventilator. Two weeks later, she could drink from a cup on her own and eat ice cream. She has since been going for short walks with the help of a device called an exoskeleton, a wearable robot designed to help patients with brain injuries walk.
Her speech also began coming back. Her first words? ‘God damn it,’ according to Frank Calzadillas. ‘Her dad told her “Don’t say that. You’re supposed to be the miracle child”.’
Frank Calzadillas said he doesn’t blame any of the Las Vegas doctors for their initial prognosis.
‘Medical science is what it is,’ he said.
Jovanna was in the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas (pictured) when she was shot
Gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded 851 others before killing himself
Now, the couple is looking forward to lounging on the couch and watching movies with their 11-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Calzadillas is also happy that she will ‘get to boss my husband around.’
They’ve also received widespread support from family, friends and the community. The Salt River Police Department started a GoFundMe page in October which has garnered more than $87,000 in donations.
While the couple can laugh together now, Frank Calzadillas knows there’s a long road ahead.
‘The very first thing she remembers when she woke up was panic because she couldn’t talk. We still live those days,’ he said. ‘We still have those hard times where it’s very emotional. It’s still a struggle.’
Calzadillas will be doing out-patient therapy now. She is determined to do it for however long it takes to regain her strength and mobility.
‘My kids and my family – I will not quit on them and I will not quit on myself.’