On the night of September 8, 2018, I was on my way to work. (I worked the night shift.) As I approached my car, I heard two loud bangs, and then I instantly felt pain my arm. When I turned around to see what was going on, there was a man with a gun, dressed in all black with a ski mask on, walking toward me while shooting. I tried to run away, but I was instantly paralyzed from a blow to the back. I didn’t know what else to do, so I decided to play dead, hoping that the person would leave me alone. Shortly after, an ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital.
Three days later, I awoke from a medically induced coma. That’s when I learned that I had been shot 10 times. One of the bullets shattered my spinal cord, which has caused permanent paralysis, and the baby that I was carrying did not survive. I was five months pregnant at the time.
My life, as well as my three kids’ lives, will never be the same. Though it’s been a tough journey, I’m thankful to be a survivor.