IamA Survivor of an armed robbery in which I was shot through the left lung and heart. AMA!

Do you arm yourself now? Gun, knife, taser, pepper spray?

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Is the armed robbery your main reasoning for having one? And what kind?

Yes. After something so random and violent, I dont feel comfortable without a (9mm sccy) on my side. If your an enthusiast check them out, they are made in Florida and have lifetime warranty on every part of the gun.

Ever though about getting a grizzly bear? I have seen those fuckers at the zoo, I wouldn't give you any shit if you had a bear with you...

Thanks for the smile, ill remember that.

Have you considered body armor?

I have read of companies that make extremely thin / low profile undergarments that can offer limited protection.

I have not. At this point, hopefully i wont need it, for my circumstance at least.

How long from the time you were shot until you received medical help?

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Holy crap! I can't believe someone said no to surgery! Were you able to make the 911 call or did someone else?

No, after i took off and they took off the other way, i ran into a house screaming call 911, and they did, i went back outside and collapsed and just laid there in shock until emergency personnel arrived.

A random house? If so, it completely makes sense, but I bet the occupants were terrified lol!

It was actually in an area i frequented and had friends in and at the time spent alot of time outside skating and things, no doubt the house i ran into had seen me beofore, but yes i certainly terrified them, thanks to there calm and coolness all went well fromt here.

What happened to the shooter?

Do you have any lasting physical effects?

Did you get PTSD?

Are you afraid of people being behind you?

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You admit your guilty and you get a lessor sentence, testifying against each other got them 55 years dropped off. The justice system likes when you admit guilt, looks good for them.

Did you inflict any damage on the the assailant?

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What's it like having testicles made of adamantium?

We all have the courage to fight for whats right.

Which was the one that had the gun? If given the chance to do it again, would you have instead tried to finish the fight on the one you ran over (assuming he had the gun) rather than running?

Both had guns, what youre are saying could have been the only other option, granted i took it from the second one fast enough, but that also means i would have had to shoot the first one if he still had his gun and wouldn't drop it.

I see. I was under the impression that only one had a gun, and that if you were to charge them and keep them from using it, would you choose to finish the fight physically rather than running.

I suppose two guns does complicate that.

Yeah there was no way it was ending cleanly.

Thanks for the comment/question.

What was going through your mind as the bullet was going through your body?

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Did it deter your escape in any way? Did it slow you down or was it the opposite due to the adrenaline?

Not IMMEDIATELY, I was able to keep running and yelling and even thought about driving myself to the hospital, but within minutes, things were going awry inside me, my legs stopped working, and i just laid there until paramedics got there. Adrenaline is so surreal, i dont think most people realize what you can actaully do when youre put into a fight or flight situation, your mind and body go into straight survival mode. It took several weeks for me to feel normal again because as the doctor described it when you go into shock like that, your body thinks is it going to die, so it stops everything but your heart lungs and brain, no walking,no eating, no peeing. Your body completely shuts down and it takes a few weeks to reboot and get all systems on again.

What do you think should've happened to these 2? I'm sure no one agrees with them only getting 5 years

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What would you do if you did?

Nothing, i would do nothing. Maybe look at them, maybe not? I dont know. I wouldn't be scared.

Earlier you said >I couldn't agree more. when someone suggested they deserved to die. Which do you actually think? Long prison, death, hard labor, what?

Granted the rest of the comment that said because of political correctness stops real justice. I would have liked them to serve a very serious sentence for a very serious crime. going in at 15 and 17 coming out 20 and 23 is nothing, 10 more years would have been nice.

Do you have any advice about what to do when you are being robbed in an armed robbery?

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I do not regret fighting for my life.

Seriously? Even after all of the pain, suffering and expense you endured? I'd like it if you explained this statement a bit more.

I stated it was gang motivated, as told to me by detectives and they came prepared enough (two loaded guns). They way I look back on it, it was fight and live or wait and die, how can i regret that choice. Basically im saying, i dont regret making the split second decision to GTFO of there rather than wait for them to decide what to do.

Oh, I see. I misinterpreted your post, I thought you ran away rather than give up your wallet or phone or something.

Yup, my wallet with 7 bucks was in there hands, and i took off, they didnt keep the wallet, maybe they thought i had pockets stuffed with $100 bills. As i said though they werent there for the money, that may have been a bonus or shit maybe they wanted my I.D before they killed me so they could show there gang leaders. Who knows.

What were you thinking as you were suffering from the pain of the bullets?

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even complimented the nurse in the ER on her perfume before they put me under

A real man always holds the essence of being a gentleman, even at the brink of death, eh?

It was really funny, literally minutes from dieing, and going under for a 4 hour open heart surgery and she corrected me and said it was her lotion literally 5 seconds later out cold.

Has this changed your opinion on gun controll or have you thought about carrying a firearm since this occurrd?

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Holy shit, 15 and 17?? My jaw just dropped.

Yup, i was 19. Ive mentioned, I was told by police, they were doing it to prove themselves in a gang, along those lines anyway. Guns in the hands of kids.

What is your advice for others who find themselves in similar situations or in any sort of crisis?

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Wow. I will keep that in mind. Thank you. Were you thinking of the risks of hurting yourself or dying or was it "I need to fight"?

I just wanted out of the whole situation instantly, and i wasn't going to wait around and see how they wanted to end it, punched one, pushed the other and ran. It really happend so fast, under 45 seconds, there was no time to think if i was going to be safe, it was just react or wait for them to do what they were going to do.

would you call it heroism, or just adrenaline and instincts taking over? Not trying to sound like I'm accusing you, just curious to how you see it

It was apparent immediately that there attention was on me and something bad was going to happen, i only had time to react, and instead of cowering, i started fighting, no point in thinking about what could have happened, it did happen, and im here. Adrenaline no doubt kept me alive, it makes you make split second decisions that save you, it made me have enough sense to grab a towel to cover a bleeding pistol whip wound, and to stay calm and breath. Once it was all said and done, theres nothing i can do at that point but to wait for the ambulance, and the adrenaline kept me conscious.

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I'm glad you got away and not only that but be able to talk about it as you are now. I have learned the lesson today to always trust my gut and you are living proof as to why.

Thank you, they call it a gut feeling because its a feeling deep within you, its all your instinct and life lessons telling you what to do, if you trust yourself, you trust your gut.

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Damn... I grew up in Gwinnett County, near Sparkles and the fair ground...

Whoa, used to live in Lawrenceville.

You are freaking me out man.... If I would have stayed in Lawrenceville, I would have graduated from Central Gwinnett in 2000.

Small world!

Do you think about anything differently after the event?

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Could you elaborate on that at all?

I know that was quite broad, its just my whole out look on life is more positive, even coming from something so negative.

Lets just run through a quick timeline of events Pistol whipped, shot through lung and heart, go into shock, double heart attack in ambulance, 4 hour open heart surgery, 46 staples,13 IV's, 5 tubes, 5 chest ties, 4 months intense recovery, 9 more months fully healing. After all that, some things just aint that bad.

Just out of curiosity, what is your race and what were the races of your attackers? Glad you're still here with us!

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Yeah I figured that was the answer. Thanks for responding. Do you have any ill feelings towards black people now since this happened? Or do you not let race play into it at all?

Without getting too into it, it kinda depends on the situation, its helps a lot that i dont live in the same area anymore. I dont dislike black people, but there are young groups that like to intimidate and thats the problem.

Can you describe how it feels to be shot?

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So if you saw a guy on TV get shot and just walk off and do other things would you call bullcrap or is this actually feasible?

So many variables, to be honest it could have gone totally different for me, one inch to the right and it would have obliterated my spine, if it hit me a few feet sooner it may have torn straight out my chest and i would have been dead in minutes.

From what the doctors and detectives said, movies make gunshots seem worse then they are for effect, granted i didnt get shot with a shotgun from 2 feet away.

Any gunshot that hits an organ is serious, and your not going to be doing a whole lot of anything before things start going wrong inside you. I dont know how feasible it is to keep doing things after being shot in the leg or through the shoulder like in the movies.

Do you ever think about what would happen if you ran into the two guys that tried to murder you? Maybe they say they are going to kill you and finish the job, and then lunge at you in an aggressive manner causing you to fear for your life, and you stand your ground against them? Or have you resigned yourself to the fact that the people that were willing to take your life for pocket change are out walking the street?

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Well you have a remarkably positive attitude considering the circumstances, good for you.

Thank you.

Do you have a CCW now?

Yes.

This might sound cliche, but did you see your life flash? or did you started to remember random events that happend in your life??

I do remember thinking about all the good things in my life towards the end of the ambulance ride when things were looking bleak.

Why are they unable to remove the bullet?

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So, you can actually feel the bullet in your chest?

I can feel a tiny bump on my chest where it flexed the bone a little.

Did it ever occur to you to just let them take what they want, and not risk losing your life? Or did it occur to you that they were going to shoot you either way and thus you tried to fight them?

The latter, at first I hesitated and was real docile but they started getting aggressive(even after the robbery began) and we were actually in kind of a blind spot from view of anyone, i felt they were going to get what they wanted and finish it quickly so they would have no loose ends.

As i said before, i learned from detectives afterward that it was gang related, they were trying to prove themselves and had most likely been told to kill someone.

No question here, but a year ago tomorrow, I was robbed at gunpoint as well. No shots were fired, but being eighteen years old at the time, it was, and still is the scariest thing I've ever went through. Just want to say, glad you're alive.

Thank you.