Petra Anderson was like everyone else at the midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado: She just wanted to see the latest Batman movie. What nobody anticipated was that masked gunman James Holmes would burst into the theater shortly into the feature and begin shooting people at random. One of his many victims was 22-year-old Petra Anderson, a recent graduate of University of the Pacific’s Stockton Campus who planned to pursue her master’s degree at the University of Maryland this fall. Sadly, her dreams were put on hold after being shot four times by the lunatic, one of which hit her in the head.

However, as tragic as her story may be, there is a bit of a silver lining. According to doctors, Anderson suffers from a rare brain defect which ultimately saved her life. Petra’s pastor, Brad Strait, explained that the girl’s condition created a small river of fluid which runs from the front of her brain to the back. When the shotgun pellet found its way into her skull, it connected with this liquid, allowing it completely bypass her brain matter.

“The shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect,” Pastor Strait explained in a recent blog post. “Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain.”

Although the bullet remains lodged inside Anderson’s cranium, doctors anticipate that she will make a complete recovery. Sadly, the medical bills for Petra’s treatment and surgery, as well as the expenses associated with her mother’s breast cancer, have taken a financial toll on the family. An Indiegogo account has been set up to help the family weather this very stressful and unfortunate storm. Check out the video for #readytobelieve4petra below.

Everyone at WebProNews wishes Petra Anderson and her mother a speedy recovery.