Jovanna Martinez-Calzadillas continues to recover after the shooting in Las Vegas October 1. Since the shooting, the small community where she grew up has rallied to support her family during this tragedy.
Martinez-Calzadillas and her husband Francisco met while attending Hayden High School. The high school sweethearts, who now live near Phoenix, are avid country music fans, a family member tells KGUN 9. They have two children, a son, and a daughter.
The two were in Las Vegas to spend time with each other and celebrate Francisco's safe return home after a tour of duty in Iraq.
That celebration was cut short when a bullet hit the 29-year-old mother of two. Doctors initially didn't believe she would survive.
“It's been hard for us. We've never experienced something like this, and it's like a nightmare that has not gone away, and we're still living it,” said Maribel Perez, who is Francisco’s aunt.
Perez, who returned home to Hayden Sunday night after spending the past week in Las Vegas, says Jovanna's vitals are stable, and the family hopes to bring her home to Arizona late this week or early next week.
Perez says her family is very thankful for the support that continues to grow in the Jovanna’s hometown.
Sunday evening, loved ones gathered at the high school softball field where Jovanna once played to hope and pray for her recovery.
Former classmate Ginger Chester helped to organize the vigil, “She has a big support system, and we're all fighting for her, and we're all praying that she can come home.”
Chester says workers at the mine where some of Jovanna’s family members work raised $3,000 for her Monday morning.
In her Las Vegas hospital room, Jovanna is surrounded by family including her 3-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son who talks to her daily, Perez said.
“She tries to open her eyes when he talked to her, and she even smiled at him, so we know she's listening,” she said.
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $70,000 for the family.
