Kaylia Relford became one of the city's youngest shooting victims earlier this month, hit by a stray bullet while she slept. The second-grader has gone through nearly two weeks of treatment and physical therapy.
Kaylia will never forget May 2nd. She was awakened by the screams of relatives who heard more than 40 shots fired in the neighborhood. They soon discovered that several of the bullets not only hit their house, but one tore through the 7-year-old girl's left leg.
Kaylia spent a week in the hospital and needed to use a walker for two days. "The first night she couldn't walk up any stairs and it's hard to pick her up and it's hard to take her to the bathroom because our bathroom is upstairs and her room is upstairs," says mother Julia Relford.
Kaylia's jeans cover bandages and scars left behind by the bullet. "They're something else to look at," says Julia. "I mean every time we change them it just reminds us of what happened to her and she got to go through all that and it's like she's seven, this is not what she's supposed to go through."
Amazingly, she's getting through it quickly. Kaylia is now jumping rope without a problem, although you can notice a slight drag in her left leg as she walks. Her classmates, she says, have been calling every day. "They miss me and they want me to come back to school."
Her 3-year-old sister Malia misses her the most and doesn't want her big sister to go. Julia plans to return Kaylia to Saratoga Elementary School on Tuesday.
As for the neighborhood near 39th and Spencer where the shooting happened, there was a noticeable police presence in the area on Monday and a group of volunteers were walking through the neighborhood praying with residents.
Police have not made any arrests in connection with the shooting.