BROWNFIELD, Texas – The nine-year-old Texas girl whom President Donald Trump asked the nation to pray for is out of the ICU after successful brain surgery.
Sophia Marie Campa-Peters underwent brain surgery on Friday at Boston Children’s Hospital for a rare disorder in which the blood vessels in her brain narrow and close. The condition results in constant strokes.
During a press briefing last week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders passed along an encouraging message from President Donald Trump: “He told me to tell you to keep fighting, to never give up, keep inspiring us all, and never, ever lose faith in God. With Him, all things are possible.”
Sophia’s father, Scott Andy Peters, posted about his daughter’s recovery on Facebook Sunday morning, saying she’s getting back to her “normal, goofy, silly self.”
The post read, “Sophia is out of ICU, she is in a regular room and doing well! Physical Therapist says she looks great. She is eating pizza and watching Frozen, getting back to her normal, goofy, silly self.”
The White House’s full statement reads:
“Today, an inspiring family and a brave little girl from Brownfield, Texas are facing a challenge that is inspiring their friends and neighbors, and now, hopefully, an entire nation.
Nine-year-old Sophia Marie Campa Peters suffers from a rare disease that causes the blood vessels in her brain to narrow and close. Three years ago, this condition resulted in Sophia enduring four massive strokes.
The strokes left her partially paralyzed. Since then, she has undergone numerous surgeries, but she has faced each one of them with a fearless exuberance for life that warms the heart of everyone she meets.
When the doctors told her she would never walk again, she dismissed them. “If you’re only going to talk about what I can’t do, then I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Just let me try.”
Not only did she try, she succeeded, leaving her doctors dumfounded. When they asked how she was doing these things, she had a simple answer: “Because I’m awesome,” and she’d smile.
During the holidays in 2016, Sophia had several more minor strokes, but she kept fighting. One of the neurosurgeons told her mom, “This little girl has God on her side.”
These experiences led Sophia’s mom to realize that her daughter’s incredible faith could have a profound impact on others. “In a world where things are so bad and ugly, when there is so much loss of faith,” she said, “people needed to hear Sophia’s story so that they could hear a true testament to God’s grace and His glory revealed.”
This Friday, Sophia will undergo brain surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, and she has one request: She has asked the entire world come together and pray for her on the day of her surgery. In her amazing, nine-year-old mind, that meant creating a goal of just reaching 10,000 people.
We want to make sure she gets that and far exceeds it. So today, Sophia, I’m here to tell you that millions of people from every corner of the world will be praying for you on January 26th.
And among those will be people and all of us here at the White House, including President Trump. He told me to tell you to keep fighting, to never give up, keep inspiring us all, and never, ever lose faith in God. With Him, all things are possible.
Thought that was a very inspiring and a great message for all of us to remember and remind us. So thank you, Sophia, for your strength and for reminding us of that today.”
