WARNING: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
WAWA — The community has come together for Bridgette Hagen, the Wawa mother of two who received life-altering injuries when she was shot during an interaction at the Northern Credit Union branch.
A family friend, Bob Cliffe, says she is fighting every step of the way.
Cliffe has taken on the role of communicating on behalf of the family through the GoFundMe he set up shortly after the Dec. 12 incident.
"You know how it is when you're a mother, with those two kids — she wasn't going to let go," said Cliffe.
Bridgette's husband Kevin Hagen flew with his wife to Sudbury, where they have been through numerous surgeries, with many more expected, he said.
So far, Bridgette's hand and part of her forearm have been amputated, her appendix was removed and she has had surgery on her lungs, heart and colon to stop the internal bleeding. Her pelvis and femur are shattered and she has pellets in her face, jaw and eye cavity.
"It's going to be a tough road ahead for her for sure," said Cliffe.
"But she's a tough cookie — I'll tell you that."
Through text messages with Kevin, people following her recovery through the GoFundMe have received regular updates
"Bri was able to open her eyes very slightly. She was able to turn her head to respond to a voice, in both directions. She seemed to be slightly aware that family was there," said Kevin in a text shared to the GoFundMe on Wednesday.
"Her medical staff are optimistic. Plastic surgeon may be doing jaw/face surgery shortly and shattered pelvic surgery will be scheduled further down the road to allow her body to heal."
Cliffe said he created the GoFundMe shortly after the incident in an effort to do something for his long-time friends. To date, $116,000 has been pledged toward supporting the family.
"It's just taken off. What an amazing thing for so many people to contribute like that," he said.
Although a large sum of money has been raised, Cliffe said the family will need every dollar of it and more to move on and recover.
"Even if she heals, she's going to have problems for the rest of her life," he said.
Cliffe said contributions have not only come in from Wawa, but also from people from all over who have no connection with the Hagens.
Northern Credit Union confirmed on the day of the incident that one of its employees was shot after a shooter entered the Wawa branch around 11 a.m. on Dec. 12.
The OPP said in a Dec. 12 news release that the suspected shooter was found dead at the scene.
Cliffe said details from OPP about the incident have been scarce, but the family has been told Bridgette was not targeted.
"It was just a wrong place, wrong time kind of thing,' said Cliffe.
"There's lots of rumours and stories and stuff but nobody really knows the truth."
SooToday reached out to Kevin, who has been concentrating all of his energy on supporting his wife and family through the crisis.
"I really don't know much more what could have been done to prevent this from happening," Kevin said.
Although he has consented to the OPP eventually releasing the name of the shooter, Kevin noted he does not want to see him glorified in any way, as sometimes occurs through the media.
"I don't want the gunman's name being praised like they do on CNN in the U.S.A. The gunmen gets more media attention than the victim does," Kevin said.
