A 16-year-old girl who was badly injured when she and her mom plunged several stories during the Florida condo building collapse is now haunted by nightmares about the tragedy — as her dad remains among the 121 still missing.
Deven Gonzalez, her parents Edgar and Angela and dog Daisy were on the ninth floor of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside when it collapsed on June 24. Her older sister, Taylor, was not in the building at the time.
Angela suffered a broken pelvis when she and Deven fell four stories but she managed to save her daughter from the rubble.
When the girl, a star volleyball player in high school, was rescued by firefighters, her first reaction amid the trauma was to tell them she had to compete in a major meet in a few days.
Deven, who has undergone several surgeries for a broken femur, apologized profusely to her coach for missing their final practice.
“I said, ‘Let’s focus on you right now and not volleyball,’” travel club coach Amy Morgan told the Associated Press.
Deven has not been able to see her mother yet because they are in separate parts of the hospital, but she briefly chatted with her on video on her mother’s birthday when Andrea’s intubation tube was removed, Morgan said.
The girl, who was conscious when the building collapsed and throughout her rescue, remembers details from the tragedy vividly and is having trouble sleeping as she is haunted by nightmares, her coach said.
“I don’t know if she’s completely come to terms with everything. She has and she hasn’t,” Morgan said, adding that Deven was unaware of the scope of the catastrophe and the worldwide attention focused on it.
“She says, ‘My dad’s still missing. My dad’s still missing,’” Morgan said. “She gets really choked up about it.”
Edgar is a kind, gentle and jolly father, she said, and described that after one tournament, he helped prepare a huge barbecue feast for the team. The family was about to leave for Orlando when tragedy struck.
“They’re so loving, so supportive,” Morgan said. “I see a lot of (Deven’s) strength coming from her parents.”
Deven has taken her first few steps, according to Morgan, who said, “It’s going to be a nasty, hard, painful road, but I think she can do it.”
Her mom will undergo surgery for her injuries this week, but has been responsive when asked questions, said family friend Joslyn Varona, who has posted updates on Facebook.
“There has not been any news on Edgar. We are still praying and hoping for a miracle,” she wrote. “This is a strong and wonderful family. They have a lot of faith.”
When Deven’s team met for practice Thursday night, they allowed parents to participate. Everyone sat in a circle and held hands as they prayed.
“Deven is such a hardworking and loving person,” teammate Liyah Deveaux told the AP. “We can’t wait for her to get back on her feet. We love and miss her so much.”
A GoFundMe site has raised more than $100,000 for the family.
“We’re really trying to help and be supportive, but we feel absolutely helpless that we can’t make it better,” Morgan said. “Every single one of us would be in there digging through the rubble. If we could be there, we’d be doing it.”