A Tucson woman who was injured in the Las Vegas shooting Oct. 1 is on the road to recovery, family and friends report.
Savannah Sanchez, 26, is a 2009 graduate of Desert View High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Sanchez was in critical condition after the shooting, spending several days on life support following two surgeries, her sister, Sarina Mendez, told the Star.
Mendez, along with her mother and sisters, spent several hours on the night of Oct. 1 trying to locate Sanchez before a nurse at a Las Vegas hospital called Mendez from her sister’s phone.
The family rushed to Las Vegas to be at Sanchez’s side during her recovery, Mendez said.
Sanchez was removed from life support Oct. 10 and woke up later day, Mendez said, adding that Sanchez has been up every day and talking.
"They also started doing physical therapy a few days ago as well trying to get her to walk and sit on her own," Mendez told the Star. "She is still in ICU and we don't know when she'll get downgraded and then released."
After graduating from Desert View, Sanchez moved to Ventura, California, to study photography at the Brooks Institute, which went out of business last October, her friend, Yusely Herrera said.
Sanchez, who wants to be a sports photographer, enrolled at Ventura College to finish her general education credits and graduate with an associate’s degree, Herrera told the Star.
The day after the shooting, Herrera set up a GoFundMe page for Sanchez. The site has brought in more than $27,000, which will go toward Sanchez’s medical bills and recovery.
On Thursday, Herrera visited Sanchez at the hospital in Las Vegas.
“She remembers things back home and stuff she does with her friends,” Herrera told the Star. “She’s very much her old self, the independent Savannah we all know and love.”
