Tuscon shootings take a personal twist for my family

[SethY]

Although I do not know the victim whose story is told in this article, I learned today that my father is a very good friend of Susan Hileman, who used to be a social worker at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where he worked before going into private practice. I did not know this part of the story and for those who also did not, it is very interesting but more admirable in what she was attempting to do by bringing Christina Green to the event.

Arizona shootings: Victim inspired by Obama's hospital visit

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When President Barack Obama entered her hospital room, Susan Hileman raised her index finger and gestured for him to come to her bedside where he embraced her.

She was comforted and inspired by his visit Wednesday, her husband Bill Hileman said. She also liked that the first lady came to see her, too.

Obama stopped by University Medical Center Wednesday to visit with U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords along with several other victims of Saturday's shooting.


Hileman had taken her 9-year-old neighbor, Christina Green, to meet Giffords at the event outside of a Safeway store when the shooting started. Christina died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Hileman, 58, remains in serious condition.

Despite the almost 50 year age difference, the two were friends. Hileman had taken Christina under her wing, trying to expose her to different female role models from Giffords to former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Hileman had surgery on Tuesday to rebuild her shattered hip. Afterward, with pain under control, she seemed perfectly clear for the first time since the shooting, her husband said.

"Yesterday, I got my Suzi back," Bill Hileman says. "It was just a wonderful, wonderful day."

Hileman could be out of the hospital as early as next week, though she may spend some time in a rehabilitation center before going home. She'll need first a wheelchair and then a walker as she recovers.

Bill Hileman says that he wished his wife could have felt the energy at the McKale Center at the University of Arizona Wednesday night during the memorial service. The families of the victims felt wrapped up in it, he explained.

When the families entered the stadium and their images appeared on the JumboTron, people got to their feet, clapping.

"The outpouring of love from 28,000 people was tremendous," Bill Hileman says. He sat with his daughter, Jennifer, and her boyfriend, Brian Pedersen.

"The President's words really helped me for the first time for a way to organize it all and put it in perspective," Bill Hileman says. "It feels like there's a beacon out in front now that I can point to and set my course forward."

center before going home. She'll need first a wheelchair and then a walker.