Harrisburg, Pa. – One of the five Amish girls who survived last month’s schoolhouse massacre is fully disabled from a severe head wound and unlikely to recover, and the four others probably have permanent disabilities, a physician familiar with their medical treatment said Wednesday.
“They’re kids who are pretty damaged and will have long-term consequences for these wounds,” said Dr. D. Holmes Morton, a pediatrician and director of the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg.
The most seriously injured girl is being tended to by her family at home and is “not expected to recover much function, if any,” Morton said.
He said her care mostly involves treating pain and making her comfortable.
Another girl who also suffered a severe head wound is expected to remain in a hospital rehabilitation facility until December. The three others have “face and limb wounds that will be disabling for a long time, if not permanently,” Morton said.
The survivors were among 10 schoolgirls who were taken hostage by milk truck driver Charles Carl Roberts IV on Oct. 2 and shot.
The five other girls were killed in the attack, and the 32-year-old gunman committed suicide.
Morton described the survivors’ injuries to The Associated Press on Wednesday, the first time a physician with direct knowledge of their care talked about their recoveries. His clinic is about 4 miles from where the West Nickel Mines Amish School stood.
One surviving girl’s shoulder joint was so badly damaged she might not recover the use of her arm. Another girl was wounded in the face but did not suffer brain damage and is recovering “pretty well.” There were also pelvic and hand wounds, he said.
