Survivor Of Moses Lake Attack Leaves Hospital Arm Reattached But Doctors Unsure If She’ll Regain Full Use

Natalie Hintz, the only survivor among four people shot at a Moses Lake junior high school, left the hospital Friday.

Hintz, 13, had been recuperating at Children’s Hospital in Seattle in recent weeks.

“It happened, and, you know, I get stronger every day,” Hintz said during a news conference. “I am alive thanks to people’s prayers and incredible doctors.”

She credited her family and friends with helping her recover, and said her thoughts were with the families of the other victims.

“When Natalie was shot, our life as we had known it stopped,” her father, Phil Hintz, said. “There have been many miracles during these past four weeks.

“The result is that Natalie has made better progress than her doctors originally thought possible,” he added.

A sign outside Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake on Friday said “Welcome Home Natalie,” and students and teachers sent a large signed poster to the Hintz home.

Natalie’s twin sister, Breeana, said she, plus an older sister and younger brother, were eagerly awaiting the girl’s return.

“I want to give her a hug and say hi,” Breeana said.

Natalie’s right arm was nearly severed by a rifle bullet. Doctors succeeded in reattaching the arm, but it is unclear if she will ever regain full use of the limb.

Two students and a teacher were shot to death Feb. 2 in an algebra class at the school.

Student Barry Loukaitis has been charged with three counts of aggravated first degree murder and one count of assault in the shootings. A hearing is scheduled Monday to determine if the proceedings in Loukaitis’ case should be closed to the public and media because of his age.

Dead in the shootings were algebra teacher Leona Caires, and students Manuel Vela and Arnold Fritz, both 14.

No motive has yet been offered for the killings.

Dr. Terry Massagli, a doctor at Children’s Hospital, said Natalie suffered life-threatening injuries to her right arm and right chest, her diaphragm and her liver.

Doctors at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake stopped the bleeding from her liver, and she was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Surgeons there took a vein from her leg and used it to bypass a section of artery in her right arm that was blocked. They used a metal plate to stabilize the bone in her upper arm, which was broken all the way through and shattered. Then they worked on her liver and repaired the hole in her diaphragm, the breathing muscle.

She subsequently had skin grafts on her arm and chest, he said.

She was then transferred to Children’s Hospital to recover.

The family has appealed for donations to pay for Hintz’s treatment and future rehabilitation.