NC shooting survivor: Gun violence goes beyond the initial gunshot.

In the summer of 2020, in the midst of the deadly pandemic, when everyone was focused on fighting against COVID, I was fighting another battle: gunshot wounds that nearly killed me.

July 9, 2020 was supposed to be a good day. I was on my way to work in a lab in Richmond, Va. I was almost finished with my PhD qualifying proposal after studying in the United States for three years and was making plans to return to Ghana to see my family.

Instead, that will forever be the day I was attacked and shot in the arm. I still don’t know who shot me — I was told that a gang mistook me for someone else. I was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong look.

I was rushed to the hospital unconscious and admitted to the emergency ward. After undergoing tests, scans and additional treatment, I was told the bullet had injured both bones in my forearm, leaving me with significant nerve damage.

I struggled financially during my recovery because I was hit with large hospital bills, had no money to pay rent, and no family in the U.S. to support me financially. Due to COVID lockdowns and travel restrictions, my family couldn’t come visit me. Knowing their limitations and fearing they would worry about me, I decided not to tell them about the shooting.

After nearly two years of suffering alone, I finally told my family when I returned home for the holidays. You can imagine my mother’s anguish when I told her.

Unfortunately, stories of gun violence like mine are common in millions of households across the U.S. and it’s a uniquely American problem. The U.S. gun death rate is 13 times that of other high-income countries.

I came to this country for a degree — and never expected to get a gunshot wound instead. Too often, gun violence becomes the reality of students studying abroad, immigrants and others looking for a piece of the American Dream — only to find the American nightmare: a gun violence epidemic that discriminates against no one.

Thankfully, that is changing. On Tuesday, a bipartisan supermajority in the U.S. Senate that included N.C. Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, advanced a major gun safety, mental health and school safety bill designed to keep people safe from gun violence.

This bill, if passed, will save lives. From creating an enhanced background check process for gun buyers under 21 to providing federal funding to implement state “red flag” laws this framework is what so many gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates have been fighting for decades.

It’s been nearly 26 years since Congress enacted a major gun safety law. That’s 26 years of survivors waiting for justice, 26 years of preventable tragedies, 26 years of thoughts and prayers from our lawmakers. Right now, we’re closer than ever to ending that deadly drought.

Gun violence goes beyond the initial gunshot. Years later, survivors, their families, and their communities often still have mental, physical and emotional scars from gun violence. I never want anyone else to have to go through what I did — with no school, no family support, and other complications from my shooting.

I know too well what gun violence can do. I began sharing my story as a way to take action. I joined the Everytown Survivor Network and Students Demand Action, because I understand the importance of young people’s voices, like my own, to create change in this movement.

Now almost two years later, there are still days that are hard — mentally, physically and emotionally. Even as I write this today, I’m experiencing arm pain and numbness. But, I know I’m not alone. I am a part of a movement that is strong and getting stronger. Survivors are leading this movement, but we can’t do it alone. We need lawmakers like Tillis and Burr to lead the way to pass this life-saving legislation.

Together, we will build a future free from gun violence. That starts with passing this bipartisan bill into law.

If you also want to prevent gun violence in our state, call Sens. Tillis and Burr. Urge them to please get this bill signed into law as quickly as possible.

This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 10:50 AM with the headline "NC shooting survivor: Gun violence goes beyond the initial gunshot.."