SARASOTA, Fla. — It was a moment as unlikely as it was miraculous.
Monday afternoon, Aaron Hunter III, 13, returned to his Sarasota home only two and half weeks after he was shot in the head and somehow survived.
“That night, I didn’t know if he’d ever come home again,” said his dad, Aaron Hunter, Sr. “He real deal took a bullet to the back of his head.”
“They didn’t expect for him to live with the injury that he had,” added his mom, Erica Dorsey.
According to the Sarasota Police Department, the shooting happened on Gillespie Avenue in Sarasota’s Newtown community on June 22.
Family members say the affable teen, who attends Brookside Middle School and is nicknamed Lil AA, was in a backyard not far from his own home when he was shot under circumstances that are still unknown.
“Honestly, I still don’t know who did it, whether it was an accident, on purpose — I don’t know. But I do know, God said we’ll worry about that later,” said Hunter, Sr.
His parents were only focused on one thing at that point: praying for their son’s survival and getting him to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the most capable medical hands possible, including those of Dr. George Jallo.
“It’s a team effort that is involved in taking care of these children that come in with head injuries,” Jallo said Monday.
He and the team at the hospital in St. Petersburg performed an operation to remove dead brain tissue and fragments of bullet and bone.
They cared for Hunter through brain swelling and a seizure.
However, despite all of their medical care and expertise, even Jallo admits a larger force was at work.
“It’s a miracle. It’s a miracle that he survived the gunshot wound, it’s a miracle that he survived the hospital stay, and it’s a miracle that he’s home today,” said the pediatric neurosurgeon. “Less than 40% of children will have a, you know, a prognosis or an outcome where they’re able to return home in a functional condition.”
Now, that miracle is back home.
He’ll need physical therapy and rest to regain some hand-eye coordination.
His parents, however, can finally breathe easier again, and they say that’s thanks to amazing doctors, a supportive community, and a higher power above.
“There’s no way we’re supposed to be here right now,” Hunter, Sr. said.
They also thanked Ronald McDonald House Charities Tampa Bay, which was there for them during their 19-day stay at the hospital.
Hunter’s parents plan to hold an anti-violence march on Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in Sarasota. They hope the entire community will attend.
