Mark
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Mark has been around firearms from a very young age. He learned to use one at “six or seven years old...I grew up around guns all my life.” During his almost 25 year military career, he “never had a single firearm issue,” and after retiring, Mark continued to keep guns in and around his home for security. While working in his shop one day, he inadvertently knocked a high shelf where he had a gun stored. The gun fell, hit the counter below, and went off, wounding him in the abdomen. Mark’s wife was nearby and “she ran in and saved my life, because she’s the one that put her finger in the bullet hole.” She called 911 and Mark was taken to an area hospital where he had “something in the neighborhood of 22 transfusions,” and spent three days in a coma.
Mark had several surgeries to repair the damage and after two weeks was released from the hospital. “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, and they clipped a good portion of my lung.” Although he has lasting damage from the accident, Mark believes his gun injury to be just that. “I’m not afraid of a gun. I’ve been in a car accident, and I still drive. I think I guess the best advice I could ever give anybody else is keep your situational awareness around you. I dropped mine. I knew the gun was there. I had taken it upon myself to be overconfident and forget about it to the point where I knocked it off. If I’d have had the situational awareness and realized, “yeah it’s there, be careful,” you know it still would’ve been there probably now.
Mark accidentally knocked his firearm from a magnetic holster on a high shelf in his workshop and was shot at close range.
Mark accidentally knocked his firearm from a magnetic holster on a high shelf in his workshop and was shot at close range.
So, one Christmas somebody decided to give me one of those magnetic holders. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one. If I’m not mistaken, I think Duck Dynasty put it out. I’m not sure, but it’s just a magnet. You put the gun up on top, and it’s supposed to help. It’s basically for a car, but I put it in my shop. I don’t know what year model it was, but it was a 9-millimeter Makarov. I put it up there. It’s been up there for years. Every now and then, I take it down and clean it up. That and the fact that I’d never dealt with anything more than full metal jackets, so I didn’t have any hollow points in it or anything like that. It’s basically just shoot dogs, or if an intruder comes in, shoot. It wasn’t there to kill. I’m there to stop.
One day, I was going in the shop, and I was reaching for a framing square. I was doing something in the kitchen, and the thing fell off. It fell off and it landed on the counter, and it shot me. So, it got me right there, and it went all the way up to about this far away from my spine on my back and stayed there. Of course, after about the first two or three minutes of cussing up and down myself and running around looking for where the bullet was, I finally realized that I was hurt. I realized that I was shot because there was blood all over the place. My wife, she was out here painting underneath the car port. She ran in and saved my life, because she’s the one that put her finger in the bullet hole. Called 911. Those guys were awesome, got here within four minutes. Had me quite stabilized. Ran me down the hill about four miles to where there’s a helicopter pad. They medevac’d me. I think there was something in the neighborhood of 22 transfusions.
The preliminary report that I remember hearing was the gun was on sure-cock. Now there was a load in the chamber, but it was on sure-cock, so there should have been no reason for it to fire. It just did. Fluke thing. Just one of those things that just happened.
Mark continues to have long-term health impacts after sustaining a accidental gunshot to his stomach.
Mark continues to have long-term health impacts after sustaining a accidental gunshot to his stomach.
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.
As he’s gotten older, Mark feels having firearms for protection serves as a “safety net.”
As he’s gotten older, Mark feels having firearms for protection serves as a “safety net.”
Yeah. You know, when I was in my thirties, I still felt bulletproof enough to where I thought if somebody would come after me, I could handle it. You know? I’m a pretty stout person. Now with my back and everything, and now after I was shot of course, I can’t handle it like I used to. So, that’s basically the only thing that’s keeping the bad guys away. In my opinion, it’s all I’ve got left. That was the way I felt anyway when I was – I don’t know. You know? It’s the same way with when I was doing convoys. I cannot drive on the interstate. I feel like I’m boxed in. I just can’t do it. I guess that might be a little bit of PTSD in me, but I don’t know. It’s just – I guess it’s more of a safety net. Now when he’s here, all of my guns are in the safe. So, they’re all locked up and everything. Otherwise, I have one on the nightstand. I have one in the shop, so I can get to it, but that’s about it.
Being discreet when carrying a firearm in public is important to Mark.
Being discreet when carrying a firearm in public is important to Mark.
I do have a carry conceal permit, which is one of those big ones. It’s multi-state. There’s only like two or three states that aren’t on it. I normally go. If I’m going, I’m normally going strapped. So far, nobody has ever noticed me carrying one, but I always have it.
Do we have guns? Yes. Do we sling them around and shoot at everybody? I mean, like I told you, I carry a gun almost all the time. And if anybody would have recognized that I had a gun, I’d have been embarrassed. You know? And it’s not to say that I’m embarrassed to carry a gun. It’s to say that I don’t want to make anybody feel uncomfortable that I have a gun. I guess that’s my mentality. That’s where most people’s mentality is.
Most gun owners that I know of that are really serious about safety, don’t flaunt. Like I said, most everybody that I know of – we don’t run around and say, “What are you carrying today?” No, it’s just not something that’s acceptable conversation. You just have it. That’s just what it is. I don’t know. That’s just the way I was brought up. My dad’s got two or three safes in his house. We were always brought up with safety in mind. Just out of all the family members, I’m the only one that’s been shot. It wasn’t – it’s just by accident.
Mark stresses the importance of having “situational awareness” when interacting with a firearm.
Mark stresses the importance of having “situational awareness” when interacting with a firearm.
I wish it never happened. Okay? I mean, you could wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which one fills up faster, but it happened. You could dwell on it, or you could move forward with it and learn from it. The other thing is, I definitely learned from it. It’s not one of those that I’m not afraid of a gun. I’ve been in a car accident, and I still drive. I think, I guess the best advice I could ever give anybody else is keep your situational awareness around you. Okay? I dropped mine. I knew the gun was there. I had taken it upon myself to be overconfident and forget about it to the point where I knocked it off. If I’d have had the situational awareness and realized, yeah it’s there, be careful, you know it still would’ve been there probably now. That’s about the only advice I think I can give anybody. It’s, you know, don’t panic. Situational awareness is key to anything if you have a gun or not. It’s the only thing I can think of. That’s about the only thing I can give.