Katie Medley Escapes Theater Shooting to Give Birth Following Colorado Tragedy
Fundraising Campaign Commenced for Husband, Shot in the Eye, Fighting for Life on Ventilator
When young couple Katie and Caleb Medley decided to take one final date together before welcoming their baby son into the world they could not have envisaged how that date would have such a massive affect on the rest of their lives. The couple planned to watch a special midnight premiere screening of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," at their local Aurora movie theater.
Katie was due to give birth on Monday, and the couple was eagerly anticipating the final part of the hugely popular Christopher Nolan trilogy. It seemed like a perfect date before the birth of their first son. However, unknown to them there would be an event that night that would prematurely alter the direction of their lives in a way neither could have predicted.
As the couple watched the opening minutes of the Batman film in the Aurora movie theater, James Holmes burst into the room dressed in a gas mask, holding a slew of weapons. In the moments that would follow 12 people would be killed, 58 others would be wounded, and 23-year-old Caleb would suffer a gunshot wound to the head.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Amazingly Katie, 21, was unhurt in the massacre, but her life lay in near-ruins; as she faced the prospect of delivering her first baby, a boy already named Hugo, father-to-be Caleb lay in the University of Colorado Hospital in critical condition.
On Monday it was reported that Katie had moved delivery location to be closer to Caleb in the hospital, but by Monday afternoon she was in labor and preparing to deliver her baby. She finally gave birth at 7:11 a.m. on Tuesday.
David Sanchez, Katie Medley's father, has described how his daughter and son-in-law had waited for a year to attend the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises." But as Katie was in hospital on Monday, Sanchez attended the Denver courthouse where shooting suspect James Holmes was making his first court appearance.
"When it's your own daughter and she escaped death by mere seconds, I want to say it makes you angry," he told reporters outside court.
Amazingly Caleb survived the gunshot wound to the head, and amid the tragedy there is hope that he may recover and that newborn Hugo will be able to grow up with his father. However, it is already known that Caleb has lost his right eye, and has suffered some brain damage. With Caleb in critical condition, doctors were forced to put him into a medically induced coma.
The couple's future has been thrown into doubt, however, as they do not have health insurance, and Caleb's bills could be substantial. Friends and family have created a website for the couple to ask for prayers for the new family, and to raise money to help them in their time of crisis. As of Tuesday July 24 evening the website has already raised more than $163,000. Medical bills for Caleb are expected to eventually run into the hundreds of thousands if not millions, according to the website.
The website describes: "Caleb, Katie and Baby Hugo need your help. They need your prayers and good thoughts but unfortunately, they will also need financial assistance."
If you would like to pray and offer any contributions to Caleb and Katie Medley and their newborn son Hugo, you can do so by visiting the website HERE.
