GUN ACCIDENT

I was fourteen years old when I was accidentally shot by my friend when his hunting rifle misfired. The pain felt like a bolt of lightning went through me.

I was saved by another kid who showed up on his dirt bike. I rode on the back of his bike as he drove out of the woods near our neighborhood. He drove me to the closest neighbor’s house where they called 911 and I was taken to the hospital.

The bullet went through my back and out the front of my stomach. My intestine was blown up and had to be surgically repaired. I spent one month in the hospital and a full year of recovery.

The hardest part that I had to face and overcome was self-rescuing without panicking and freaking out. I had to drag myself to where the dirt biker found me. I couldn’t move one leg at all. I was able to climb on the back of the dirt bike and hold on while I was starting to lose consciousness. I had to stay calm. Two miles from the nearest neighbor’s house, I knew I had to keep going to save myself. Of course, I was very lucky that the kid on the dirt bike found me and drove me out of the woods.

This experience taught me the lesson of staying positive and not letting the accident get me down. I always looked at the bright side that I survived the accident. This is a skill I’ve carried with me as I've grown older. “It could always be worse.”