Mmmm....didn't feel anything. It actually took a couple seconds for my friend to start screaming before I realized what happened. Then I actually thought to myself ,"did what I think just happened really just happen?" Then I saw the blood.
I can relate, brother...sort of.
When I was shot, that was my exact reaction. I remember a millisecond or two of denial. My incident was nowhere near as life threatening, however. I never felt anything until hours later once the adrenaline had died down...then it hurt pretty dang bad. But in that split second where I realized what happened had actually happened, that was a very queasy moment.
I was told that I was remarkably calm, more so than everyone else present. Funny, because my mind was in full on panic mode it seemed, lol. I did the best I could to control the bleeding while I had a panic stricken friend drive me to the local fire department which was close by (few people had cell phones back then and I was nowhere near a land line).
I was also involved in a pretty bad bike wreck once, in which I was tossed over the handlebars at 55 MPH when I was confronted with the front end of a Cadillac. I was told that I was calm and cool despite extensive injuries. I remember talking to the older gentleman that hit me, convincing them that I was ok and I would be ok...just call 911 please. I convinced him to remain calm before he has a heart attack, call 911, see to his injured wife in his passenger seat and stay with her since she look frightened to death. None of those injuries hurt either, until the adrenaline rush subsided on the x-ray table.
Your mind does strange things when confronted with a possible life or death scenario. With the gunshot wound, it honestly seemed like no big deal once I realized I hadn't taken a potentially fatal hit. When I finished rolling through the grass after my motorcycle incident, my mind created a checklist so to speak.
- The forced knocked my shoes off...can I wiggle my toes? Check! Probably not paralyzed, awesome!
- Check my boxers for my "manhood." Check! Seems silly, but try to imagine the possibility of permanent damage and you'd be worried, too!
- Rib or two is obviously badly bruised or broken...lay still, very still.
- Femur broken, but no signs of femoral artery damage...lay very, very still.
My life never flashed before my eyes, I just remember two distinct thoughts while flying through the air.
- Crap, this is going to hurt like hell.
- 2. Hey, I never got to father any kids (I've since remedied that).
Hope all has recovering well with you and best of luck! Thank you very much for sharing the incident and reminding everyone to be safe.