Jewish Federation victim recovering

SEATTLE – A severely injured victim of last month’s Jewish Federation shootings is continuing her recovery, her father and her doctor said Friday.

Layla Bush, 23, had the most significant injuries among the shooting spree survivors as far as long-term effects are concerned, said Dr. Ron Maier at Harborview Medical Center.

One woman died and five were injured in the July 28 shooting, when police say Naveed Afzal Haq stormed into the Jewish center and opened fire, declaring he was a Muslim angry at the United States’ support of Israel.

Haq, 30, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and other charges. He faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted in the death of Pamela Waechter, 58, director of the Jewish charity’s annual fundraising campaign.

Bush was working as a receptionist at the Jewish Federation offices when she was shot twice, in the shoulder and abdomen. One of the bullets grazed her aorta, and, if its path had been a centimeter different, she likely would have bled to death, Maier told a news conference.

“She was the person most injured at the time of the attack,” he said. “She was not the one in most imminent danger of dying from acute blood loss, but she had the most significant injuries that are likely to cause long-term problems in her recovery and for the rest of her life.”

Bush had to have parts of her liver, pancreas and spleen removed. The bullet also damaged a kidney and her spine, and is lodged in the nerves that control her right leg, causing weakness and decreased sensation.

For now, it would be more dangerous to remove the bullet than to leave it where it is, Maier said.

Bush’s father, Vernon Bush, said his daughter went into respiratory failure at one point while she was in intensive care.

“She grabbed my arm and she said, ‘This could be it,’ ” he recalled. “And then, it was like a miracle. Her breathing popped in. Her heart rate popped in. Everything steadied.”

He said his daughter is bored at the hospital and is eager to return home – and to her job at the Jewish Federation.

Another victim, 43-year-old Cheryl Stumbo, also remained at Harborview as of Friday.