‘God had such mercy’: Mom speaks of son’s recovery after Westgate shooting
Magdalena Jaime got one of the worst calls a mother could receive Wednesday.
The voice on the phone said her son, 19-year-old Alfredo Jaime, had been shot at Glendale’s Westgate Entertainment District.
He was at the venue with a 16-year-old girl, who was also shot. Her family identified her as Destiny, but refrained from giving her last name at this time.
Both were transported to the hospital. A third victim was also shot, but was not transported.
Magdalena Jaime and the girl’s mother were in constant contact, trying to get any information they could about their injured children.
Magdalena Jaime told The Arizona Republic on Saturday that she was waiting at an intersection along 95th Avenue for nearly two hours, hoping police would give her any updates about her son. Destiny’s mother eventually met up with Jaime, telling her she knew the children had been taken to the hospital.
There, they waited for several hours until — despite coronavirus-induced restrictions on visitors — Jaime was permitted to go into the trauma room to see her son.
He wasn’t yet conscious. He had been seriously wounded. His lung had been penetrated by the bullet and he lost a significant amount of blood. He underwent several blood transfusions and a breathing tube had to be inserted down his throat.
Alfredo Jaime woke up from sedation on Thursday night, but his mother said she hasn’t been permitted to visit her son again since that initial visit on the night of the shooting.
Alfredo Jaime underwent surgery on Friday and now has two titanium plates in his ribs, though his lungs remain in “really bad condition,” his mother said, citing her conversations with the doctors caring for her son.
She was able to leave a tablet with her son so they could at least virtually see each other. He remains hospitalized, but she wishes it were different.
“I want to be there with my son, just to help him with whatever I can and for him to know that we are there,” Magdalena Jaime said.
Magdalena Jaime last spoke with her son via FaceTime on Saturday afternoon, telling The Republic he was conscious but “very traumatized.”
“He’s mixed up in his days — he thought he was only there (at the hospital) one night,” she said. “He’s worried, he’s been seeing the news, he’s like, ‘Mom, why did I get shot?’ and just questioning everything.”
And, though Magdalena Jaime said her own emotions have been “up and down,” she’s tried to focus most of her attention on her son and his needs.
“I have to remain strong so he can be strong,” Jaime said.
She attributed much of her strength to her faith and the prayers that have been said for her family over the last few days.
“I’m more than grateful,” she said. “I think I’m blessed because God had such mercy on my son not to take him away. Doctors told me if it was a few more inches toward the right or left, it would’ve hit his heart.”
Jaime thanked the first responders, hospital staff and community members who have cared for her son and offered the family their support.
Magdalena Jaime doesn’t know what her son’s road to recovery will look like going forward. For now, she’s immensely grateful for the progress he has already made.
Police identified 20-year-old Armando Hernandez Jr. as the suspect in the shooting and said Hernandez told investigators he wanted to harm 10 people in order to “gain some respect” after being bullied. He is facing 16 felony charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm and criminal damage.
A GoFundMe to raise money for Alfredo Jaime’s medical bills had raised more than $4,500 by Saturday afternoon, while a separate GoFundMe for Destiny had raised just over $2,000.