By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Doctors call Anne Marie Hochhalter their "miracle girl."

On Thursday, the Columbine High shooting survivor took a monumental step in her recovery.

She went home.

In her typical understated way, Anne Marie left Craig Hospital. There was no fanfare, no news conference, no flash of cameras.

Anne Marie simply wanted to leave quietly and celebrate with her parents and younger brother.

She wrote from the heart about her gratitude to everyone who has touched her life since the April 20 tragedy.

"I have wanted to be private during my recovery and I appreciate the media's respect for my wishes," she said in a statement.

Anne Marie thanked the paramedics and staff at Swedish Medical Center for saving her life.

She was sitting outside the cafeteria with two friends when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold started spraying bullets. They tried to run. But Anne Marie couldn't get away.

However, paramedics were able to reach her outside.

"She was wounded very, very seriously. Another two minutes on the ground and she wouldn't even be with us. She came that close to dying," said Ted Hochhalter, Anne Marie's dad.

The two bullets that ripped through her body have left her with a spinal cord injury. They also damaged a lung, her liver, diaphragm and a major vein.

"The doctors say she is their miracle girl. The surgery she had was very radical. Many people don't survive it," Ted Hochhalter said.

For the foreseeable future, Anne Marie will remain in a wheelchair. She is in constant pain, even with the medication that she will have to take for the rest of her life.

Even so, Anne Marie is incredibly brave and hopeful, her dad says.

"Her spirit is excellent. She's been an inspiration to all of us."

She plans to go back to Columbine for her senior year, even if she has to start with just one class at a time and build up. She doesn't know what day she will be strong enough to start.

"Physically, she's still quite weak. It will take a while to get to the point where she can go full time," Ted Hochhalter said.

In her message, Hochhalter also thanked the staff at Craig Hospital for teaching her the skills to be independent again. And she thanked her family and friends for their constant support.

"I still have many obstacles to overcome, but I know that I can do it and God will give me the strength along the way," she wrote.

Her family has moved into temporary quarters which are wheel-chair accessible.

And they have bought a ranch home with a walkout basement so Anne Marie can have access to the full house. They plan to sell their current two-story home when the new home is ready.

The Colorado Homebuilders Foundation is renovating the ranch home to make it fully accessible. Builders from Genesee Homes are supervising the project and hope to make the necessary changes within the next month or two so the Hochhalters can move in as quickly as possible.

Anne Marie's needs and expenses may grow as time passes.

"People think that as soon as they're discharged, everything is fine. Now the hard part begins," Ted Hochhalter said.

Contributions: Anne Marie Hochhalter Supplemental Care Trust, 1st Bank of So. Jeffco, 6701 S. Wadsworth Blvd., P.O. Box 620009, Littleton, CO 80162-9903.