Veterans’ firearm injuries

While protecting his friend from a violent neighbor, Daniel was shot multiple times.

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While protecting his friend from a violent neighbor, Daniel was shot multiple times.

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I was injured protecting a friend of mine from a really violent person who had his firearm at an apartment complex where we lived, threatening people, even kids. You know, the guy was just horrendous, and everybody complained about him, but you know, they never did anything until it was too late. So, I actually was shot six times trying to rescue a friend from a heated argument with this guy. And the guy threw up on himself when I was trying to help my friend get away. 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.

Daniel says he was “lucky to walk out a week later after being shot that many times.”

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Daniel says he was “lucky to walk out a week later after being shot that many times.”

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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.

Daniel describes the emotional and financial toll of his injury and the long rehabilitation period that followed.

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Daniel describes the emotional and financial toll of his injury and the long rehabilitation period that followed.

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It was so hard on me because, you know, the humerus was completed severed. I mean, they fractured that thing, so you know, it looked like the bones looked like corn chips. And it’s hard for me to deal with the fact that I was no longer able to take care of myself. And what I normally did, which I loved doing, I was no longer able to do that. So, that became very depressing to me. And I mean it’s, I don’t know if I can describe it. It’s like, you know, you get that feeling of being obsolete or inadequate. And you don’t want your family to suffer. You don’t want, I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me. You know, or stuff like that. And I had nobody to turn to who is in my social, you know, who was going to give money to pay my bills. How was I going to do this? It just compiles everything, and the pain.

It was hard. I tell you; it wasn’t just hard on me. It was hard on everyone around me. And I felt like I was doing the right thing when it happened because I was in defense of others. I had to do it because I had seen what was going to happen. And I don’t know. It’s hard. It was very hard. Many nights I’d sit there and hear my mom crying. And she’s crying for me because I’m feeling the way I am. So, it’s like everybody is getting it.

As a boy, Daniel was taught how to use firearms responsibly, and recalls going hunting to help put food on the table.

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As a boy, Daniel was taught how to use firearms responsibly, and recalls going hunting to help put food on the table.

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Okay, well, my first experience with firearms, I think I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I grew up in a little town and we used to hunt a lot on the river and on the bayou and stuff. I think my first firearm had to be a .410 shotgun for deer hunting, and sometimes we’d hunt wild boar and rabbit for food on the table. I think my grandfathers were the ones that, you know, traditionally taught the boys how to hunt and stuff and chores. I think we pretty much were safe having firearms. We were taught how to clean them and take care of them, and keep them, you know, away from other kids and stuff; be responsible.

Having a firearm gives Daniel “peace of mind” as he doesn’t feel protected by the local police.

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Having a firearm gives Daniel “peace of mind” as he doesn’t feel protected by the local police.

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Well, I think the best reason to own a firearm is probably peace of mind. It has a way of giving you confidence, that you’re able to protect your family, and also feed your family. Downfalls sometimes come too, that is when there is conflict with family and there is a firearm involved. So, I don’t know. That’s hard for me to put in words. I like to think about, if I have a firearm, it’s there if I need it. And I would think that I would use it only to feed my family. And if there is a crime going on, killing another person in self-defense would be something that would be a last resort. The police aren’t always there to stop anything. Most of the time, I see they come as an after effect. You know what I’m saying? If you live in an area where the crime is really high, you’re going to want to have a firearm.

Daniel recalls feeling that his healthcare providers weren’t listening to him as he was rushed through appointments.

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Daniel recalls feeling that his healthcare providers weren’t listening to him as he was rushed through appointments.

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I mean there are so many variables to take a look at, to focus, to try to solve a problem for somebody, Veterans especially, because you know, some of us need some special care and we don’t get it. Not everybody is sharp as a razor. And some of us have issues. Well, we’re kind of brash ourselves, but we try and understand, you know what I’m saying? And we do some things right. But I wouldn’t say, you know, an individual it’s a problem. I think the whole system is the problem sometimes. It doesn’t function like a fine-tuned clock. We get rushed in. And then we don’t get listened to sometimes, or we get ignored. And we all get irritable, you know, to an extent. And I try to think positive and try and look at things in a positive way. But sometimes, it’s hard to see when you feel like that, you know, you’re just a guinea pig or just another number when you’re going to the VA to get treatment. And you don’t get the help that you need. I don’t really think it’s always--I don’t think absolutely that it’s the VA’s fault. It’s just the system is, to me, just not enough. There never is enough, you know? I’ve been sitting in a hospital in a crowded room, entry room, emergency room, with a card that says, “priority one,” but I wasn’t getting priority one treatment.