



MILWAUKEE/RACINE (WITI) -- Ja’Nyela Marsh-Highshaw was shot in the head while sitting in a car near 18th and Villa in Racine on November 5th. Just over a month later, the four-year-old girl is getting ready to go home from the hospital!



For any parent, the "firsts" are huge milestones. Ja'Nyela's mother, Janikka Marsh gets to watch her little girl do them all over again.



"After my birthday I'm going to be 5!" Ja'Nyela told FOX6's Krystle Kacner Thursday, December 11th.



"The more I see her do, it gives me the ability to just stay strong, because every day something's new for her," Janikka Marsh said.







Things like memories, walking, dancing were all questionable after the shooting.



"When this child came to the hospital I had grave concerns she was not going to survive her injury," Dr. Bruce Kaufman with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin said.



Because of the severity of her injuries, doctors at Children's put Ja'Nyela in a medically-induced coma for nearly 11 days following the shooting.



"She even remembers what she was doing at the moment that it happened. She told me she was getting something out of her book bag to show the people in the car what she had did," Janikka Marsh said.





"The fact that she has survived is astounding."





"The fact that she has survived is astounding. The fact that she has survived and done as well as she has is even more astounding," Dr. Kaufman said.



"Thanks for praying for me," Ja'Nyela told FOX6's cameras Thursday.



That's one thing the little girl's mother says has gotten them through their ordeal: their faith.



"My mom always told me, 'it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed,' so that day, that moment, when I seen her at the scene I kind of planted that seed," Janikka Marsh said.



Janikka's mother, Ja'Nyela's grandmother has been by her granddaughter's side since the shooting.



"We are always praying for all the random acts of violence. You never expect it to be you that you`ll be praying for," Linda Rogers said.



Now that her prayers have been answered, her mom's taking a cue from Ja'Nyela's favorite movie, "Frozen."



"See, I didn't want to let her go! I just kept holding on," Janikka Marsh said.



Ja'Nyela's doctors and her family knows there is a still a long road ahead for the little girl. They are going to have come back to Children's for at least one more surgery, but the family says this is a journey they are ready to take.



No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Crime Stoppers is offering the $1,000 reward for tips that lead to the arrest of the suspect(s) responsible in this case.



Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 262-636-9330. All tips will remain anonymous.



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