Girl bouncing back from knife wounds

MONROE, Wash. – April Lutz will always carry with her marks from the morning she was attacked.

Whether they will remind her of fear or how close she came to dying, or whether they will remind her of the people who rushed to her side, or the kindness of strangers and the bond of community – it is just too soon to tell.

April is 15. She is looking forward to getting her learner’s permit, maybe even taking driver’s education in a blue Ford Mustang. She wonders if she’ll have to go back to P.E. class when she returns to Snohomish High School.

Less than two months ago, April was stabbed in a bathroom at school. She and her best friend, Bekah, had been getting ready for class.

“I remember almost everything,” April told the Herald on Thursday.

A fellow student is accused of attacking April and Bekah. The girl, 15, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault. She allegedly told detectives that she had planned to stab someone when she packed two knives in her backpack before leaving for school Oct. 24.

April bore the brunt of the attack. She was stabbed multiple times with a large kitchen knife.

The blade pierced her heart, nearly ending her life. Just 4 millimeters more to the right or left, and she almost certainly would have died at the scene, doctors say. Just a little more pressure behind the thrust and she likely would have bled to death before the damage could be repaired.

April fought to survive.

“God has plans for you,” her mom, Sue Lutz, said Thursday.

“Obviously,” April said.

For now, April is grateful to those who came to her aid. Their efforts and decisions that day are why she survived. Her friend Bekah tried to stop the attack. She was stabbed and slashed but summoned help.

Other students and teachers also raced to April’s side. A boy she knew from geometry class held her in his arms and pressed paper towels to her wounds until paramedics arrived. Three other boys confronted the attacker. One tossed the knife out of that girl’s reach.

Snohomish paramedics made the crucial decision to drive April to the hospital instead of waiting for a medical helicopter. In just 24 minutes, they delivered her to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

April’s family and friends filled up the hospital waiting room, praying. Her parents had already lost one child. Their 22-year-old son, Jamie, died in 2000.

“I asked Jamie and my mom to give her a hug and send her back to me,” Sue Lutz said.

Remarkably, April woke up the next day.

April hasn’t returned to classes. She’s scheduled to meet with one of her doctors next week to determine what kind of physical therapy she might need. Sometimes she has pain in her shoulder and arm where she was stabbed.

April is looking forward to being back with her friends. Her mom jokes about enrolling in high school again so she can watch over her daughter.

“No, Mom,” April said.