A six-year-old girl found brutally assaulted at a First Nation in Alberta last week has regained consciousness.
Casey Bird, chief of Paul First Nation, told CTV Edmonton that the young girl woke up from a coma in hospital on Thursday -- Christmas Day.
Bird was told by family members that when she woke up, the little girl asked if it was Christmas.
“That was the best thing – they were happy she opened her eyes,” Bird said.
The girl was found severely injured near a gas station on a wooded path last Saturday.
She was airlifted to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton in critical condition. She was later listed in serious but stable condition and was unconscious.
Bird said the girl has a long journey of healing ahead.
“Hopefully she recovers physically right away, but mentally I don’t know – it’s up to the people that are going to work with her,” Bird said.
James Clifford Paul, 21, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, attempted murder and kidnapping.
