268,564
total hearts received for Moments That Survive

Rhonda Golston

Three years ago, on January 28, 2017, I went to bed early because I was not feeling well. While lying in the bed around 10:15 p.m., I woke up to be struck by a bullet. When the paramedics arrived, they discovered that I was shot in back. They asked me to move my legs. I could not move my legs. The police discovered that five bullets came through the walls of my bedroom. My mom’s bedroom also had bullets in her walls. I was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Next I was put on a helicopter and taken to another hospital because of the severity of my injury. The very next day, two neurosurgeons told my dad that I had been shot in the spinal cord and that my vertebrae were shattered in three places. The doctors also told my dad I will never walk again. I did take physical therapy, and I’m able to walk briefly with AFO braces and a knee brace with a rollator or walker. My dad found out from the detectives that it was a gang shoot out between a Chicago and Gary gang.

Reacting shows support for gun violence survivors.

268,564