Physical Impacts
Veterans we spoke with described varying degrees of impact from both the short and long-term physical effects they experienced from their firearm injuries. Some described the initial pain they experienced, as well as the extensive treatments their injury required. They also discussed the ongoing impacts and loss of functioning that resulted from their injury. William reflected, “When that type of injury happens, the first immediate impact is holy hell that hurts. I don’t care how small of a bone gets hit by the smallest bullet…The pain was excruciating.” After attempting suicide, one Veteran described being in a coma and then going through several facial surgeries and recalled that his injury made it hard for him to function properly, saying that, “you don’t eat right because you can’t chew food. You don’t breathe right so you don’t get the oxygen that you need. It’s hard on a person.” Another Veteran’s firearm injury resulted in “no serious damage” and they did not require follow-up beyond their initial treatment.
Able to regain close to a pre-injury level of functioning
Some Veterans who experienced a bullet wound injury described needing immediate surgery or extensive physical therapy. After their initial treatment and short-term recovery, some were able to resume close to their pre-injury level of functioning. Chris talked about how after his finger was amputated, “Within a week I was back to using my hand like normal without any issues.” For others, regaining this level of functioning was extremely painful and required work. Johnny recalled that during his rehabilitation he worked very hard, “harder than I probably should’ve a lot of the time.” Some described how they continue to experience minor side effects that they’ve learned to manage. Scott shared that although he’s “reminded of my shot every day, I’ve just learned to live with it and it's just a day-to-day thing now.”
Although Bill had extensive surgeries and a painful recovery after injuring his hand, he reflects that the physical impact was “for the most part short-term, not long-term.”
Although Bill had extensive surgeries and a painful recovery after injuring his hand, he reflects that the physical impact was “for the most part short-term, not long-term.”
The pain was utterly excruciating. The problem is the human body is a great transmitter of energy. And even having only impacted that small bone and what I know about internal and external ballistics and firearms, I probably only transferred maybe 15% of the total energy and velocity of the bullet to that bone before it just broke through and continued on. We found it under the carpet days later. I still have it. It’s a reminder, what happened. But that energy travels through all your tissues. And my entire arm was aching like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I felt like I was holding it out on the freeway when an 18-wheeler came by. That’s what it felt like.
The physical aspects of it are very obvious. Mine were, for the most part, short-term not long-term. I don’t really have a lot of pain in that hand. I do in another hand that was injured in service. I’ve got them both now. Does it affect me in my daily work at HP? No. Probably not so much in gunsmithing. It’s subtle enough now, after recovery, that after many surgeries by some really, really great medical professionals, that I’m really not hampered by it much. But I expect to have a lot of arthritis in it in another 10 or 15 years. There’s a timeframe after a severe injury like that. You can almost predict when the winter joint pain especially in Oregon is going to start to get you.
And it was so absolutely painful having that bone graft taken from the rim of my pelvis. Apparently, there’s a lot of nerves in that bone. And I don’t think that’s anything they taught me in biology in high school, that was the last course in biology I had. Nerves in bones? Who would have known? Well, I know. I couldn’t drive I think for three or four months. I had to walk with a cane because it was so painful because those muscles and tendons and ligaments are constantly moving across there. The reason I couldn’t drive is because if I sneezed or coughed, that compression caused so much pain, I would pass out while I was driving. So, I was actually restricted from… yeah, it was pretty bad, I can tell you.
After being shot during a hunting accident, the severity of Johnny’s injuries nearly led to his arm being amputated. He underwent extensive physical therapy to regain mobility in his shoulder and arm.
After being shot during a hunting accident, the severity of Johnny’s injuries nearly led to his arm being amputated. He underwent extensive physical therapy to regain mobility in his shoulder and arm.
So, from what I understand from my uncle and my now ex-wife, everybody was pretty upset that—that they were coming to my mom trying to get them—trying to get my mom to say it’s okay to take my arm.
My mom’s answer to them finally was, because they thought it was just going to rob my body of nutrients and it was going to die because of the extent of the injuries to it. My mom finally told the doctors—and this is while I was intubated still—finally told them that, “Hey look, you know, if it comes down to that, he’ll be the one to make that decision. Not us.”
And my mom knows. My mom knows that I would’ve been a little upset, so. Especially now knowing that, you know, I got most of my arm back. So, because I would’ve fought my butt off to get to where I am. And I have fought my butt off, so. I still have—I don’t have a rotator cuff on my right arm, but I’ve worked myself hard—harder than I probably should’ve a lot of the time, so that I can raise my arm up. I do most anything with my arm, so.
So, within like 2-3 months of me being shot, we started physical therapy. And then, we’re already—and I was already off my pain meds, or I was coming off of them, I can’t quite remember. It was right there where they started pushing me off the pain meds, but, so, he started pushing me hard. And then, I started pushing myself harder because, “Now this guy’s not going to push me around like this. I’m going to work harder than he expects me to. That way, when I’m there, it doesn’t hurt as bad.”
And doing that, and then, just getting back to my normal routine, I kind of went above and beyond what he anticipated even. He expected me to get, you know, 50-60% back. And what? About a year and a half? About, so we did physical therapy for about six months, then I didn’t have physical therapy for about six months. And I went back after six months of not having physical therapy. And I’d been driving a tow truck for a little bit. And he looked at me and he goes, “I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but don’t stop doing it because you have far exceeded my expectations. And there’s not much I can do for you, buddy.
After having surgery on his hand, Robert describes working to regain his strength and mobility, noting that the strength in his hand has “come back considerably.”
After having surgery on his hand, Robert describes working to regain his strength and mobility, noting that the strength in his hand has “come back considerably.”
That one little lapse of, you know, that little brain fart, that little lapse in memory of not pulling that magazine out, messed up my hand for the rest of my life. Now, fortunately, it was my left hand and I’m a right-handed person. So, that was very fortunate. And also, I am in my seventies, and this happened five years ago. So, it’s not like I’m going to, you know, the heart of my working life with a crippled hand. But I have one now, so, there you go.
They can’t take you into surgery right away. It was not a life-threatening kind of thing. Like, if I had shot myself in the chest or something and I’m possibly going to die, you know, right there, then they would have immediately performed surgery on me. But since it was not that kind of a wound, they stabilized it. They first clean it up and, in my case, it was a bullet that went through; it didn’t stay inside me. So, they didn’t have to worry about that. And then they, you know, after about 24 hours, they schedule you for surgery probably a week after, in the neighborhood of five to seven days after you go in for the first time. You come back from surgery, which you know, is a pretty big deal, you know. You’ve got to deal with the pain again and stuff.
You lose a certain amount of things, like initially, it was very difficult for me to, when I was in the shower, you know, to bend my arm back and handle a washcloth, you know, to wash my back. It was difficult to hold on to anything. Initially, my hand was so weak, I felt like a, like a little newborn kitten. You know, you have no strength at all in that hand. But it’s come back considerably.
And it’s five years later and I am living in a different environment and I’m trying to be more active, especially as the weather changes here, getting into spring finally, that sort of thing. So, oh yeah, it definitely affects your day-to-day life.
Recalling the firearm injury that led to his finger being amputated, Chris shared, “Within a week I was back to using my hand like normal without any issues.”
Recalling the firearm injury that led to his finger being amputated, Chris shared, “Within a week I was back to using my hand like normal without any issues.”
I was having a lot of pain, and I was on Gabapentin for the pain instead of narcotics. I had a misconception that, in my mind, because it wasn’t a narcotic, my mind should be clear. That wasn’t the case. I was handling a firearm. I had taken it apart and cleaned it. Put it back together and loaded it, and realized I had neglected a step. I went to take it apart while it was still loaded. It went off and took my right index finger. The bullet went down the length of it. If you can see, it’s gone. Because the bones were all shattered, it wasn’t worth saving.
I was fortunate, and I had a really good hand surgeon at the hospital. Before I went into surgery, I did tell him that if he could save the finger, go ahead and save it unless it was going to require multiple surgeries and months and months of rehab to save it. If that was going to be the case, just amputate it and let me move on with my life. He amputated it and did a beautiful job. Most people don’t notice that I’m even missing a finger. I use it. Within a week I was back to using my hand like normal without any issues.
Darrell underwent surgery to repair the nerves in his hand after being shot.
Darrell underwent surgery to repair the nerves in his hand after being shot.
The second shot, it went through hand and into my stomach area. And it just, like, barely missed my spleen and my kidneys. And so, I was very fortunate in that area. But when it went through my hand, it tore a bunch of the nerves that go to my fingers. And I was in the hospital. I got out after several days. And then I went back in, probably two weeks later, I believe. And they did surgery to repair the nerves to my hand. And they said that they could not actually, you know, guarantee that they were going to work.
So, they did that. And I had to have this brace and have, my hand had to be held a certain direction. I couldn’t use it for eight weeks. I couldn’t pick anything up with it. It was just conformed to this deal. Because if I straightened my hand either way, I could rip that surgery apart and it may not work. Without being – all that happening, it did – I did lose the feelings out of my hand. And they told me that they could go back in and they could try to reattach all the nerves back together again. However, I’d have to go through another 8 – 12-week period without being able to use my hand. And they can’t guarantee. I have a 50/50 shot of getting all the feeling back in my hand. And I opted not to do that surgery because that’s another 8 – 12 weeks I can’t use my hand. And it would limit me from doing what I needed to do. And taking a chance that I might not. So, I’ve just lived with that.
I’m reminded of my shot every day. You touch my hand just right and it just sends little needles out into your fingers and stuff. But I’ve just learned to live with it. I’ve just – I just learned to live with it and it’s just a day-to-day thing now.
After a self-inflicted firearm injury, Jim received physical therapy through the National Guard as part of his recovery. He reflects that, “The two teeth that I lost? I could have lost my life.”
After a self-inflicted firearm injury, Jim received physical therapy through the National Guard as part of his recovery. He reflects that, “The two teeth that I lost? I could have lost my life.”
I can remember walking down to my car the day of the injury, and I said, do you really think you have enough nerve to pull the trigger? Because I was still doubting myself for other reasons. And sure enough, I could pull the trigger, but it cost me a couple teeth. I had the weapon in my mouth. Took out two teeth, and it exited midway down your neck between your earlobe and your…I would say three, about three or four inches down from the earlobe. And the bullet had exited, and I was injured at the time. Rapidly, they called an ambulance, and I went over to the Veterans hospital. And they took…I thought they took excellent care. But what I didn’t know and didn’t realize was how many people really liked Jim, and I didn’t see it and didn’t notice it until I did a silly, stupid thing in injuring myself. I’ll never do it again. At least that’s what I’m saying. I will never do it again. It was more physical than it was mental, in my case. The two teeth that I lost? I could have lost my life.
Minimal impacts related to injury
Some Veterans looked back on their experience with a firearm injury and didn’t feel that it greatly impacted their lives. Edward recalled that there was no “serious damage” from his injury. Others talked about how they only needed minor treatment and little to no follow-up care.
While William A’s injury was initially very painful, he shares, “I don’t have any residual pain, or suffering, or anything.”
While William A’s injury was initially very painful, he shares, “I don’t have any residual pain, or suffering, or anything.”
It hurt like hell. But, like I said, it missed, it missed the bone. It came really close. It went in the back of my thigh, or back of my calf, and that was – it was a, it was painful for a little while, and it tightened up pretty fast, as I was knocking on my neighbor's door to get a ride to the hospital.
And then, yeah, and that's, that's about it. I was lucky it was in .22, and I was lucky it missed the bone, and blood vessels. So, the doctor said I was lucky and they took an X-ray, basically sent me home. And that was it.
Interviewer: Okay, so no, you didn't have to have surgery, or any kind of physical therapy, or anything like that?
Respondent: No. I was actually, I was actually at the hospital for probably an hour, and they cleaned up the wound, and took X-rays. And I asked them not to cut my pants off, and so they allowed me to take my pants off because they wanted to – I had a brand-new pair of Levi's on. So, and I still have those pants that I was wearing that day with a hole in the back of the, right where it went, right when it shot. Like I said, it was six years ago, seven years, eight years ago, so. I don't have any residual pain, or suffering, or anything.
Edward notes that treatment for his injury was straightforward and caused, “no serious damage, except my ring finger’s numb.”
Edward notes that treatment for his injury was straightforward and caused, “no serious damage, except my ring finger’s numb.”
I mean all I did is I took it, I put that, took a towel and put around it and kind of walked upfront and just, “honey, I shot myself.” So, they took me to the emergency room and they, yeah, they did, I think they did put two stitches in it to stop the bleeding. Other than that, yep. Full use of my hand. No serious damage except my ring fingers numb. That’s the one I shoot for my diabetes every day. I can’t feel the needle going in.
After a BB went through the tip of Evan’s finger, “there was nothing they could do except for just cleaning the entrance and exit wound.” As a result, he experiences ongoing numbness.
After a BB went through the tip of Evan’s finger, “there was nothing they could do except for just cleaning the entrance and exit wound.” As a result, he experiences ongoing numbness.
The BB went through the tip of my finger and it chipped the bone in my finger. So yeah. My fingernail to this day still curls at the end when it grows. But the hand doctor that I went to see said that my fingernail will always curve there at the end for some reason. Something to do with the nerve damage that I did inside my fingertip.
No, there was nothing they could do about it. The BB just went…it was just clean through. Went in one side and out the other. Knocked off part of my fingernail. The only treatment they could do was they just wrapped it up and put a Band-Aid on it pretty much for a couple days and called it good. I mean, there was nothing they could really do. I mean, the hole was just so small that there’s nothing they could do. And like I said, it was right there on the tip of my finger. There was nothing they could do except clean the entrance and exit wound and wrap it and keep it clean.
Continued physical impacts
Many Veterans continue to experience ongoing physical issues resulting from their injury. For several, extensive medical treatment including immediate surgery and lengthy physical therapy was required. Robert shared, “That little lapse in memory of not pulling that magazine out, messed up my hand for the rest of my life.” Although some Veterans show no physical signs of their injury, they grapple with lingering pain. For Joe, doctors were unable to remove a bullet lodged in his torso due to its proximity to his spine. “I wake up every day and my back hurts.”
After surgery and months of rehab to treat a shattered tibia, Andrew’s leg still “hurts very badly sometimes. I think it’s aged me a little bit because of the pain.”
After surgery and months of rehab to treat a shattered tibia, Andrew’s leg still “hurts very badly sometimes. I think it’s aged me a little bit because of the pain.”
They took X-rays of my leg and they seen that it was – my tibia was shattered. And they were thinking that they were going to have to cut my leg off below the knee, when they got a phone call from a really
good orthopedics doctor out of Santa Fe. And I guess he’s one of the best in the world.
They flew me down there. And he was able to actually use new technology, I think it’s called B2MP, some type of porous bone graft type of stuff that encourages bone to grow in it. And put a titanium rod in my leg and told me that 50/50 chanced whether or not my leg would accept the bone growth – it looks like terry cloth. So, I had to go there once a week back to Santa Fe. I was only in the hospital a couple days after the surgery. After that I had to spend the next few months, once a week going – driving to Santa Fe, which is about a three-hour drive to make sure that it was taking. And it did. Then it became once a month. The whole time, for the first 16 weeks, I was in a wheelchair with no weight bearing on my leg.
After about a year, after about eight months I’d say I could start putting a little pressure on my leg. And about a year later I could ride a bike a little bit. I walked with a limp for a long time. And I don’t know, it took about two years before I could actually, you know, kind of jog on it and run on it. It took a long time for it to heal.
And now I’m – I don’t even walk with a limp. My wife, she’s like you stop limping. Because I limped for a long time. She said, “Quit it.” So, I sucked it up and used my military bearing and almost marched – guys remember marching and how you had to hold your head up straight and your arms to your side. And I practiced marching basically to learn how to walk without a limp. And now I don’t limp. But when the weather changes, of course, we all have it. It hurts, it hurts very badly sometimes. It makes me want to limp, but I try not to. I think it’s aged me a little bit because of the pain.
Daniel says he was “lucky to walk out a week later after being shot that many times, that much trauma.” He describes experiencing a great deal of pain in the months after his injury.
Daniel says he was “lucky to walk out a week later after being shot that many times, that much trauma.” He describes experiencing a great deal of pain in the months after his injury.
He shot me in the stomach once, and he shot me in the chest, and again in the scapula, in the humerus and severed my humerus completely. So, I winded up going to the hospital in pretty bad condition, but somehow, I pulled through. And it seems like after that, it was like, you know, really tough to deal with the pain. I didn’t know if my arm was going to be able to mend itself back together or not. And long periods of going to the hospital and taking X-rays and looking at the, you know, the bullet fragments in both my scapula and in my humerus and trying to heal. And I didn’t know if I was going to have to have, what I say, corrective surgery, have pins put in me and all that other stuff. So, I was kind of pretty much depressed about everything.
And trying to take care of myself with all the bullet holes in my chest and stomach. I was lucky to walk out a week later after being shot that many times, that much trauma. They couldn’t believe that anybody could take, you know, six, seven shots like that and survive. And medical stuff you had to do yourself, pulling the gauze out of the wound, keeping it from getting infection, you know. The results of having holes in your stomach, you get acid reflux because of it. And then you think that everything’s going to be okay and then six months later, you know, a piece of sharp metal the size of a dime comes to the surface, and, you know, it’s just tough to deal with.
Charles describes his recovery process after being shot in the foot; after six weeks he was able to put a shoe on again and now “can walk but not like I used to.”
Charles describes his recovery process after being shot in the foot; after six weeks he was able to put a shoe on again and now “can walk but not like I used to.”
They put a wrap around, to wrap my feet up. They gave me some crutches. I stayed overnight. I can walk but not like I used to, but you can’t hardly tell, it’s like I have a stagger sometimes. It took me about three or four weeks to put weight on my feet and walk on it because they had me wrapped up in a cast too. I had a cast on my feet for a little while. So, after they took the cast off, it was about four or five weeks. I got to where I could put a little weight on my feet and at about six weeks, I was able to put on a shoe. I didn’t get any infection. As of right now, my foot swells up and feels like the bottom of my toes is broken, but it’s just a numb feeling I had all the time.
After Joe was shot in the back, doctors were unable to remove the bullet because of its proximity to his spine. He shares that his injury “bothers me pretty much every day.”
After Joe was shot in the back, doctors were unable to remove the bullet because of its proximity to his spine. He shares that his injury “bothers me pretty much every day.”
I got a bullet in my back, by my spine, and it bothers me pretty much every day. I wake up every day and my back hurts. It’s too close to my spine so they don’t want to remove it. Can’t use my hand too good. I have small movement in my left hand. I have a bullet in my back. Every day I wake up, I stretch 50, 60 times a day because my back is tight because I have a bullet in my back. My leg, when it’s about to rain, I know when it’s going to rain every time. So, it’s an ongoing everyday thing. One day I might feel better than the next day and one day I might say, “I’m not going outside today. Can’t go outside today because I don’t feel up to it. My body’s not acting the way it needs to act.”
Mickie shares that when he was shot in the leg during an altercation, “it tore up a lot of ligament and they never did take the bullet out.” He describes ongoing neuropathy and how his “leg gets really cold.”
Mickie shares that when he was shot in the leg during an altercation, “it tore up a lot of ligament and they never did take the bullet out.” He describes ongoing neuropathy and how his “leg gets really cold.”
I think, like I said, where it went into my leg, it didn’t hit the bone but it tore up a lot of ligament and they never did take the bullet out; it’s still in there, you know, shrapnel from the bullet, it’s still in the leg. And, you know, you can feel it because they said they didn’t want to go in and tear up all the muscle in there. They wanted to – it’d come out by itself. And so, it’s been since 2013, 2014. So, you know, I can touch my leg and I can feel it. My leg, it’s the left leg, and even though I had neuropathy in there, this leg really gets cold. You know, if I’m laying back, it can be summertime and my leg – the other leg gets really cold. So, I guess that might’ve damaged something in there.
Injury was life altering
Still other Veterans recalled sustaining a firearm injury that forever altered their lives and their abilities. They talked about their experiences dealing with crippling pain, physical limitations, and decreased mobility. Erin was paralyzed after she was shot by her ex-husband. She recalled experiencing several complications during her recovery and being “in and out of the hospital” for multiple surgeries.
After he was accidentally shot in the stomach, Mark was in a coma for three days and, although healed, continues to have long-term health impacts.
After he was accidentally shot in the stomach, Mark was in a coma for three days and, although healed, continues to have long-term health impacts.
I was in a coma for three days. Woke up and couldn’t talk for two or three days. Two weeks later I was out. I had to go back in because I had fluid on my left lung. I’ve got a quarter of my colon gone, no spleen. I had to redo my diaphragm. This is why you see this bubble right there, okay, because they had to go in. I had several hernias after this and had surgeries. Yeah, and they clipped a good portion of my lung. I’ve got a big – they call it a pneumonia pocket that’s in my left lung. A lot of times, especially when there’s a lot of pollen out, I have a hard time and trouble breathing. Especially if I’m trying to do long exercises or anything like that.
After being shot by her ex-husband, Erin was paralyzed and describes how it “was a huge shift being in a wheelchair, learning how inaccessible the world is.”
After being shot by her ex-husband, Erin was paralyzed and describes how it “was a huge shift being in a wheelchair, learning how inaccessible the world is.”
Around two o'clock in the morning, he shot me twice, and then he killed himself. And luckily, my mom was down visiting, and she was able to help stabilize me until the paramedics came. But as a result, I have a spinal cord injury, so T2 complete. And there were a lot of other initial injuries. One bullet went in my carotid artery, and then that pierced, collapsed my lung. And then it hit a vertebra that went into my spinal cord that caused the spinal cord injury. And then the second bullet went in through my mouth and out through my jaw. So, I was a hot mess. My face looked crazy; I was missing a bunch of teeth. And I was paralyzed.
It was a huge, huge shift in my life. Someone who played sports, was in the Marine Corps, did amateur figure competitions, and then CrossFit. It was a big shift in my life. It took, I was in the hospital for seven weeks. I had a lot of complications. Essentially, the first year, I was in and out of the hospital for pulmonary emboli and multiple surgeries.
I'm a T2, which essentially, my injury level is here. But I still mostly have used my hands. I have some nerve damage in the left hand. But some people are in much better shape, and then other people are in more serious situations, and they recognize that, and so you start therapy then. And they started – they give you a whole host of drugs in the hospital. And part of it is, I was on Valium for – it was all in their prescription programming. And so, when I went to…. Obviously, I was struggling. I think that I was in such shock, and I was so sick for so long afterwards, I had so many complications. That by the time I got there, and I was finally feeling better, I had to start recognizing the trauma and work through it. It was tough. It was very difficult. They put me on prescription meds which were helpful in some cases. Whenever I felt like the dose was too high, I felt like a zombie. But I was able to work through that.
I was back at work within two years. It was a huge shift, obviously, being in a wheelchair, learning how inaccessible the world is. But it, I was taking my experience. It's one of those situations, you can be miserable about it, and people won't, don't want to be a part of your life or you can accept that this is the way it is, and move forward. And, you know, that's what I've done.
After being in a coma and going through several facial surgeries due to a self-inflicted firearm injury, William B notes that the injury has “slowed me down at least 50 percent…as far as physical capabilities.”
After being in a coma and going through several facial surgeries due to a self-inflicted firearm injury, William B notes that the injury has “slowed me down at least 50 percent…as far as physical capabilities.”
I was in a coma for some time. When I come out of the coma and finally was ready to get out of ICU, which was another week or two later, they sent me to a third civilian hospital where I could get my trach took out, my feeding tube took out. They could make sure that I got back to where I could walk decently, stuff like that from being in a bed for so long.
I can’t tell you whether it was a month or two, but it was a lot. I done had seven or nine, or something facial surgeries. Then I still had the trach in. I had a feeding tube. I don’t how much time lapsed there. I never really looked into it and I don’t remember even exactly when I got out of the hospital now so, to even give you a real good guess. But I know it was before the first of the following year.
The physical impacts, I’m still missing a good deal of my upper jaw. I have three teeth that’s about shot to chew on where all my teeth were knocked out. My left nostril is about closed off for the second time. I said I had all them surgeries. All of them worked but one, and the VA only done one. Well, the VA went in, and it was kind of a – they tried to open my nostril back up, basically, so I could breathe better. So, I could actually – so, I can get my wind to do more. It just grows back shut. And it was never opened the way I wanted – asked and wanted it to be. It was, at best, half ass. And yeah, it’s hard. You don’t eat right because you can’t chew food. You don’t breathe right so you don’t get the oxygen that you need. It’s hard on a person. You cannot do the things that you want or need to do. I would say if – I – it has slowed me down at least 50 percent at – from before the day I shot myself as far as physical capabilities.
Eric has a permanent limp and experiences ongoing pain due to his firearm injury, noting that when “bad weather comes in I’ll get cramps in that leg...phantom pain because there’s stuff missing.”
Eric has a permanent limp and experiences ongoing pain due to his firearm injury, noting that when “bad weather comes in I’ll get cramps in that leg...phantom pain because there’s stuff missing.”
Now every time I stretch, whether it’s in bed, standing up, doesn’t really matter. If I go up on my toes, or stretch that leg out, it jumps into a cramp that’s pretty painful, to say the least. Bad weather comes in I’ll get cramps in that leg that just, you know, phantom pain because there’s stuff missing. Part of the leg will jerk to the calf, and part of it jerks up towards the butt cheek. You’ve got two different directions in your leg at once. That happens whenever I get real tired and cold. But yeah, it’s a lot of fun. When I ride my motorcycle, the lead that’s still in my leg gets damn hot, I have to stop riding and let the leg cool down. You can’t back up against a wood stove or a wall heater because the led in your leg gets so damn hot that you can’t, you know. When you walk away, it’s not like your pant legs get hot and you can kind of pull it off. If that boy gets hot, there ain’t no getting away from that heat.
Yeah, there’s no riding a bicycle. I’ve got a limp, a permanent limp. Sometimes I have to drag that leg, you know, because it doesn’t want to work right. If you took your hand and stuck it in the crease of your knee, where your little finger touches your knee, the crease of your knee, about where your thumb is, is where I got shot in my thigh. And then you take that hand and you stick it above where your thumb is, and that’s how much of my leg is missing on the inside of the thigh. And then you’ve got about a hand’s length below your, you know, your crotch there that the regular meat is still there. But there’s a good two inches thick down just missing. So, when it has a muscle spasm and stuff like that, those muscles get to twitching in opposite directions. You know, because like I say, you’re having a muscle spasm and the brain signals are short circuiting on it, you know what I mean? And half of it’s trying to pull down, so it’s wanting to go into a cramp that way and half of it’s pulling up trying to go in a cramp that way. And then it just, the whole damn leg jumps in on it. Walking, it’s- like I say, there’s no long, long, walks anymore. I drag the leg about half the time. There’s a permanent limp. When it first happened, I had to use a cane for a while. Finally, I got away from that, but there’s a lot to deal with, a lot of pain, loss of muscle in that leg. Loss of strength and stuff.
Symptoms developed as time went on
Others experienced minimal physical impacts right after their injury, but found that more serious symptoms developed over time. Some talked about bullet wound injuries that initially seemed straightforward but ended up having more complications as time went on. Sam said it wasn’t until well after his injury that he “started to first realize this nerve damage and things that I couldn’t do that I could do before...When it first happened, I just thought it was a simple, clean wound and that was it.”
Although he initially didn’t think his injury was bad, Sam now experiences nerve damage and a limp when he walks.
Although he initially didn’t think his injury was bad, Sam now experiences nerve damage and a limp when he walks.
Well, when he pulled the trigger, it went off and it went through my leg, my calf, below my knee, above my ankle. Fortunately, it didn’t hit the bone at all. It just went clean through. Anyway, I got him to bring me to the hospital. It was not a bad injury that day. It was painful and it wasn’t fun at all. That day it wasn’t bad. But now, I have a lot of nerve damage. I guess it went through some tendons or something in the muscles that caused... I don’t have any feelings in my foot from my big toe to my small toe. It’s like there’s no feeling there. And I have a weird limp that causes me to walk a little funny. At the time, it was just what I believed a clean straight-through wound, so the hole… the side of my leg that the bullet exited, it was a larger wound than where it entered, so they just put a few stitches there and they just bandaged both sides and that was it that day. My problems didn’t come in until, as it was healing and then thereafter when I started to first realize this nerve damage and things that I couldn’t do that I could do before, like my leg moving in certain ways and no feeling in my toes, stuff like that. But when it first happened, I just thought it was a simple, clean wound and that was it. So, as far as getting any special care that day, no care was given other than just basic stitches and treatment. That was it.
Jason was diagnosed with tinnitus after several years of not wearing proper ear protection while using firearms.
Jason was diagnosed with tinnitus after several years of not wearing proper ear protection while using firearms.
I'm 40 years old and I went into the military when I was 18. And after I got out, I was really into going to the shooting range, and really big into spending a lot of time shooting guns. And I didn't realize the impact that it was having on my hearing until it already had happened, and I was diagnosed with tinnitus, the ringing in the ears.
And some days are better than others, and some days it's really bad, and it's really hard to do pretty much anything, but other days, it's better. And common sense says wear earplugs. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't, but I just didn't know how important it was to wear the earplugs, and the ear protection, and stuff like that.
Yeah, the hearing loss is what I noticed first. There was just me watching TV, and somebody else coming in, and saying, "Wow, that TV's really loud," and stuff like that, and having to ask people to repeat themselves. And that's how I noticed it first, and I was diagnosed with hearing loss.
And then I started having ringing in my ears, and really bad headaches, and like throbbing in, like, my eardrums. But yeah, the hearing loss is what I noticed first, and that's how I realized that there was a problem.