OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida man is on the road to recovery after surviving a gunshot to his chest and his medical team says the necklace he was wearing may have saved his life.
Aidan Perry, 20, says he was shot accidentally by his friend in Ocala while the friend was showing him a gun.
But once he arrived to the hospital, trauma surgeons told him the golden cross he was wearing around his neck blocked the bullet that came from his friend’s gun.
“They said about an inch above my heart and then from there it hit the cross,” said Aidan. “One of the doctors said divine intervention.”
Doctors said if not for his necklace, Aidan would’ve been in bigger trouble.
“So the bullet ricocheted off the necklace and entered his chest wall. However, it was just in his fat tissues because it slowed down the trajectory of the bullet,” said Dr. Khafra Garcia Henra, trauma surgeon at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. “It could have been way worse entering his chest wall itself, into the pleural space, which is the airspace around the lung between the bones and injuring his lung itself or his heart. So many emotions.”
Aidan said his dad, Aaron, gifted him the necklace last Christmas and never imagined it would bring him a life-saving miracle.
“I don’t want to say it was just a gift, but it came from the heart,” said Aaron.
While Aidan still has to spend some time fully recovering, he is in good spirits and thankful to share his story.
“Even with a little bit of pain, i’m still here so it’s fine. I’m fine with that. As long as i’m still here,” said Aidan. “I think God played a big role in this. I think he’s the reason that i’m still here today.”
The man accused of shooting Perry was arrested. He’s charged with culpable negligence causing injury.