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Woman Shot In The Brain Making Huge Strides

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Five theater shooting victims remain in critical condition at area hospitals and 11 people in all are still hospitalized. Among those recovering is a young woman shot in the brain, but Petra Anderson is making giant strides.

Anderson, 22, is recovering at the Medical Center of Aurora where on Friday her therapist actually quizzed her with some musical notes. Anderson is a music composer who was getting ready to head to graduate school when she was shot. While her injury sounds bad, her doctors say the fact that it didn't cause any major damage is a miracle.

"Petra is a composer, music is her life, she loves it," sister Chloe Anderson said.

Her life was almost cut short when a bullet pierced her skull and traveled through her brain.

"It just went straight and took the one straight path through her brain and managed to not hit anything vital," Chloe Anderson said.

"It's all on the left side of her brain, so her creative faculties are traumatized by the injury, but they're there and they're intact."

Exercising that creative side of her brain will be an important part of her long recovery.

"Her therapist today actually told her, 'As soon as you feel like you can, you should pick your violin and start playing.' "

Finding a way to help Anderson recover is something her family is dedicated to.

"We get to choose what we make of this circumstance, my family and myself, we're choosing to hope."

And her magical music is something they hope she will continue to create.

"It hits you somewhere where you can't really explain why it hits you, but you know something powerful just happened."

Anderson's sister says she didn't really have plans to go the midnight showing of Batman but some friends called her that day and invited her to go.

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