KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) -- As West Michigan remembers the lives lost in last Saturday's shooting; the two survivors, Tiana Carruthers and Abigail Kopf, are continuing their fight.

It's been just one week since a deadly shooting rampage devastated communities across West Michigan, but despite the horrific events, hope remains.

While Tianna Carruthers, 25, and Abigail Kopf, 14, remain hospitalized, we're told both are improving.

RELATED:Barbara Hawthorne remembered and honored on Saturday

Tianna Carruthers was the first victim.

"I couldn't help her because I knew I was gonna get shot too because he didn't stop shooting," described Joi Coleman, a witness.

Carruthers was shot three times at the Meadows Townhomes in Richland Township and, earlier this week, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller called Carruthers a hero.

"The mother, the victim in this shooting, to me was a hero. This person put themselves between the children and the shooter right away," Fuller said.

The sheriff's department tells us she has weathered multiple surgeries and remains in serious condition, but is expected to recover.

RELATED:A community remembers and honors the Smith family

Abigail Kopf was doing what she loved last Saturday night: catching a performance at Miller Auditorium and then dinner at the Cracker Barrel off of 9th St. in Texas Township, where she was shot.

Early Sunday morning, authorities said she had died, but then she squeezed her mother's hand.

"Breathtaking. It was a miracle on its own. You don't expect it and then all of a sudden it's there,"Vicki Kopf, Abigail Kopf's Mother, said.

Her parents said she remains critically ill, but continues to show improvement.

"She's actually squeezing hands more and she is actually trying to squeeze on the other side too which is both arms, which is great and she's wiggling her toes," Vicki Kopf said.

ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmp5mknryvedaoqaWcX528r7vRoqWgZaSdsm7Ax55kpJmclrqixs6oZKygn6TBqrrGZqquqqaew7C%2B0g%3D%3D