First Day of School for Shooting Victim - Cindy Carter

Tonya Simpson walks her daughter Brittney to class through the crowded halls of Lavergne Middle School.

It's the first day of school and Tonya is having trouble letting go of her daughter's hand.

"Leaving her... right now... a lot anxiety on how this day is gonna go."

Her mother says its a miracle Brittney is in school at all.

The 12-year old was shot in the head by a 10-year old neighbor just 5 weeks ago.

In the days following the shooting, Brittney suffered from memory loss, she couldn't talk or use her left hand.

Now, she's able to chat with her friends who rush to see her in the school hallway.

Brittney says, "All my friends came up and hugged me. We had a group hug in the middle of the hallway."

Brittney's continuing mental and physical challenges may mean she'll have to move into special education courses.

However, right now, she wants to give it a go in her regular classroom to see if she can keep up with her peers.

Tonya Simpson says, "Of course, we don't know if Brittney will be able to handle it but this is what Brittney wanted to do and we wanted to give her the chance."

Brittney still undergoes grueling physical therapy three days a week.

"They have me work my left arm and they have me do school work for speech therapy."

Many kids may dread going back to school but Brittney's ready to move forward. "It's been exciting."First Day of School for Shooting Victim - Cindy Carter