Photo: Updates for Ariel/Facebook
Brown writes that a CT scan “showed that a piece of the bullet hit the right back side of her head, fractured and … severed an artery, causing extensive damage.”
“She ended up having a stroke,” Brown writes. “She has no function or blood flow to the trauma area.”
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Still, there are hopeful signs. “She kept trying to wake herself up,” Brown writes. “Her pupils were dilating and she was responding to pain and touch; which is a good thing.”
The family now posts regular updates on theFacebook page ‘Updates for Ariel’. Though the child has not yet regained consciousness, her family sees signs that she may be improving.
“She’s moving around a little, coughing, getting kinda aggravated,” the family wrote on Sunday, “and she has started to breathe over the ventilator a little bit, which is amazing. Again, we won’t know the extent of what this affected until she fully wakes up.”
Ariel’s parents are staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, while her two older brothers are with relatives.
Police are searching the area to identify the person who fired the bullet. They are urging anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department at tips@johnsoncountysd.org.
While the investigation is ongoing, the family hopes Ariel will make a full recovery.
“Ariel is a very spunky little girl,” Brown tellsABC News. “She’s sassy and she’s full of life. She’s definitely not one who wants to sit still.”
source: people.com
