‘Grateful to be alive,’ says bank teller who survived random shooting

The Wawa woman who was shot during a bank robbery nearly five months ago spoke to CTV News Northern Ontario about her long road to recovery.

Bridgette Hagen has been in the fight of her life since she was shot and seriously wounded in a random attack last December at a northern Ontario bank where she worked.

In an interview at the Sudbury hospital, where she has been recovering for nearly five months, the wife and mother of two girls from Wawa said thinking of her family got her through her toughest days.

“This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life,” Hagen said, sitting in a wheelchair next to her husband.

“Just hoping that there was going to be an end in sight, because at times, it didn’t seem like there would be with the … amount of injuries that I have sustained. Recovery, at times, seemed far away.”

Within 48 hours of being shot, she had to undergo eight major surgeries.

“I’ve had my right arm amputated, I’ve had my jaw wired, my teeth removed … I had open heart surgery for my heart, my lungs. I had my appendix out, I had my colon removed, reattached twice. Hip surgery,” she said.

“I was placed in a medically induced coma for a few days -- quite a few days -- just to make sure that I was able to try to heal a little bit before I was able to wake up.”

• Get local breaking news alerts
• Download the CTV News app now

It was touch-and-go for awhile, with the doctor’s telling her husband they were hopeful she would survive.

After five months of being away from home, Hagen is finally well enough to return.

Quick-thinking supervisor

She said she owes everything to her supervisor and credits her for her survival.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fact that my supervisor made the quick decision to call 911,” Hagen said.

“This scenario could have been far, far more worse than just the injuries I’ve sustained.”

She said the first responders got to the scene really quickly, describing the response like a scene from an action movie.

“Her quick thinking saved people,” Hagen said.

• Get local breaking news alerts
• Download the CTV News app now

Incredible support

Wanting to make sure her kids, ages four and 12, had some normalcy, her mom and husband Kevin would trade off once a week taking care of the children and being by her bedside.

“Being apart is very difficult, especially with the girls,” Hagen said.

“But I think we’re stronger because of it.”

Kevin, who works for Alamos Gold, said his employer has been so supportive and helped with flights back and forth between Sudbury and Wawa using the company plane.

“The community response has been overwhelming,” Hagen said.

“I knew we were a really good community, but I didn’t realize we were an amazing bunch of people who actually care about each other and they really stepped up in a time of need for me and my family.”

She was touched when the president of Northern Credit Union, where she worked, personally came to visit her in the Sudbury hospital.

Suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, there are no plans for Hagen to return to work.

A GoFundMe campaign set up by Kevin’s best friend has raised more than $158,000 for the family, with donations from more than 1,000 people and organizations.

Regaining independence

Hagen is learning to operate her new prosthetic arm, which bears her former tattoo of her daughter’s name that she lost in the amputation.

“It’s goal is to help me get a little bit of independence back, to be able to do something as simple as folding clothes. You know, I’m trying to help with the dishes,” she said.

“Just any little task that I can try to perform to help.”

Between the loss of part of her arm and the damage to her hip, she is currently using a four-wheeled walker.

She is working on transitioning to a gunner pole, a long pole with a platform for her right arm.

Her goal is to get down to a cane, but said it will take a lot of work.

No Justice

While Hagen survived, she said there will be no justice.

The man who shot her was found dead by police after the incident. Where he was found has not been disclosed.

Questions such as why he shot her will linger forever, Hagen said.

“There’s never going to be an answer to anything,” she said.

“I have to accept that and move on. That’s not something I want to dwell on.”

She is hoping sharing her story will raise awareness about mental health and the need for help when people are struggling.

While mental health support in rural northern communities is limited, she said her team at the hospital is working to ensure she has the proper care upon her return home.

“Mental health across the north is should be taken a lot more seriously than it is, but I just think it’s really important,” Hagen said.

“There were days where it was pretty easy to give up. And everything that I have suffered and gone through has made me stronger, braver, and really, truly grateful to be alive.”

The family is driving home six hours to Wawa and Hagen said she can’t wait to just sit on the couch with her husband and watch a movie and have a cup of tea with her mom.

“I want to lock the door and snuggle my girls and I don’t want to let them go,” she said.

“I just want to lock myself in the house with my family, and enjoy the company that I’ve missed over the past five months.”

The couple said that their oldest daughter knows what happened, but because their youngest is so little, they opted to tell her a more age-appropriate story that she would understand more easily. When she gets a little older, they plan on telling her what really happened.