Abigail Zwerner detailed her painful recovery from the January shooting inside her New News classroom in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie that set’s to air on Tuesday.
“It’s been challenging. I’ve gone through a lot of obstacles and challenges,” the 25-year-old teacher said in a preview of the interview released Monday.
“Some days are not so good days, where I can’t get up out of bed. Some days are better than others, where I’m able to get out of bed and make it to my appointments.”
Still, she said she’s focused on staying positive as she undergoes rehab for her injuries from the shooting that her lawyer said was the result of inaction by school officials.
“For going through what I’ve gone through I try to stay positive, you know try to have a positive outlook on what’s happened and where my future’s heading,” Zwerner told Guthrie.
Physical scars, including a wound on the side of her body where doctors put a chest tube after her lung collapsed, are healing, NBC reported.
She said she still does not have full function of her left hand and doctors are unsure if it will fully heal.
The young boy accused of intentionally shooting at Zwerner won’t face charges, the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn told NBC News earlier this month.
A lawyer for the child’s family told NBC News they “welcomed the prosecutor’s decision and continue to pray for Ms. Zwerner’s complete recovery.”
But the boy’s parents could still face legal trouble if evidence indicates the handgun was not secured when their son brought it to Richneck Elementary School.
The parents have maintained that the legally purchased firearm was secured on a top shelf in the mother’s closet and had a trigger lock.
The boy, whose family said has an acute disability, has a history of misbehaving that was repeatedly reported to administrators, the teacher’s lawyer previously claimed.
Two days before he allegedly shot Zwerner, he slammed her cell phone down and broke it, getting a one-day suspension.
The school district’s superintendent was sent packing three weeks after the incident; it was one of a few personnel changes after the shooting.
