I was waiting for my friend by myself in an unfamiliar part of town. Out of nowhere, my assailant put a gun to my head and demanded all my money. I complied without hesitation. However, he also wanted my wallet. I didn’t give in because it contained the address of my parents; I didn’t want to jeopardize their safety and have them become a target.
It was a decision that altered the rest of my life.
I tussled with him in order to safeguard my wallet until we spun out into the sidewalk. Without a word, he points his gun at my stomach, looks at me, then lowers it and shoots my leg at point blank. It was the loudest noise I’d ever heard; he runs away. I look down and see a pool of blood at my feet (it’s an image I relive every day). I crawled to safety, applied a tourniquet, and called 911; I was determined to not die that day. The ER doc told me how lucky I was that the bullet didn’t shatter my tibia; but, I live with two bullet wounds and nerve damage.
I will always think about why I survived when so many others haven’t.