Uvalde shooting survivors struggle as they await answers

Noah ran to the school building door, stopped and turned around to wave goodbye.

“That was the last time I would see my old son, and now I have a new son,” Orona, 59, said. “He survived physically, but mentally, emotionally, I don’t know who this young man is.”

Noah, 10, survived a gunshot wound in the massacre, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. But the family’s days are now a carousel of chaos. Medical appointments. Therapy sessions. Victim, council and legal meetings. Calls. Condolences. Rallies and marches. Media leaks. Interviews. Money worries. Heartbreak on repeat…

Already, the circumstances are taking a huge financial toll on those left behind. Some families have been able to survive with generous direct donations or GoFundMes. Funeral costs were covered by a private donor, and some medical needs were met by insurance waivers. But the recovery is far more costly than any expected, several surviving families said. Some have made things work by stringing together the initial emergency federal assistance of $1,400 per family, donated gas cards and grocery gift cards.