Help Kevin Recover from Shooting

Hi, my name is Amanda and I am fundraising for my boyfriend of 5 years named Kevin.

On Friday, July 16th (or early that Saturday morning) around 2am Kevin was shot by a stranger in the South Loop at a McDonald's right next to the W Hotel.

We had just pulled up to a walk-up McDonald's to grab a bite to eat before going home after a fun night out in River North with our friends. As we were standing in line deciding what to order (Kevin wanted his usual Diet Coke, easy ice) we noticed an aggressive woman harassing a man who was much smaller than she. We didn't know either of these people, but it was clear to everyone around that the woman was going to attack him because she was following him up and down the sidewalk, threatening him and getting in his face. Seeing that the situation was getting dangerous for the man, Kevin stepped in the de-escalate the situation by saying "Hey guys let's calm down, we're all just trying to get food." The woman heard him and directed her anger towards Kevin, allowing the man in trouble to get away from her. Unfortunately instead of leaving, the woman started to now harass Kevin and threaten him. He continued to try to calm her down to no avail. I had also started to try to calm her down at this point, seeing her threaten the man I love. The woman then started threatening me by shouting, "You better get your bitch, I'm going to whoop her ass." At this point, I noticed a different man come up behind the woman adjusting his pants (which we now believe was him loading bullets into his firearm). The woman took a swing at me and Kevin moved to block her from hitting me. Simultaneously, the man turned towards me and shot 3 times in my direction. Because Kevin had moved to block me from the woman's attack, he also blocked me from receiving any bullets, saving my life. All 3 bullets hit Kevin: 1 in the chest, and 2 in his right arm. I remember seeing him stumble backwards and I can still see the blood starting to seep through his shirt when I close my eyes. My sister was also standing right next to us and was able to take control of the situation because she is a nurse. Without her, Kevin would have probably bled out and died in my arms. She had me take off my jacket and wrap it around his arm to stop the bleeding. Kevin was just screaming, "please don't let me die, I don't want to die," over and over again until the ambulance finally arrived. It was only about 4 minutes for them to get there, but it felt like an eternity. I fought my hardest to get in the ambulance with him, but he was forced to go alone.

At this point, we would not be told of his injuries and that he would survive until 10am.

We were finally informed that the bullet in his chest had hit one of his ribs and ricocheted down through his lung and diaphragm and into his liver. The doctors say that if the bullet had been only 4mm to the side, it would have hit his IVC (Inferior Vena Cava) and he would have died immediately. It is only through some type of miracle that he is alive today. The bullet will be left in his liver for the rest of his life as a reminder of the worst day of his life.

The other 2 bullets passed through his right arm (his dominant arm) and shattered the bones inside due to the impact from such a close range shot. He had surgery on Monday to add a rod and 2 plates into his arm, which will also be a reminder of this incident. It will be well over 2-3 months before he can begin to use his arm and over 6 months to be fully recovered. Kevin is an IT Project Manager at Exelon and needs both of his hands to be able to type and communicate with his coworkers and clients and will now have to take an extended period of time off from his job.

I wish I could say that the tragedies of this incident were only from the shooting, however at Northwestern Hospital, Kevin was profiled by a resident working on him due to his tattoos and his ethnicity. Examples include the resident saying, "oh don't worry about your surgery, your surgeon is Asian so he's smart." He was also neglecting Kevin's pain in his chest and arm and walked slowly around his bedside while Kevin was shaking in pain that he had described as an 11 at the time. Instead of offering sympathy and getting Kevin the appropriate painkillers (he had only previously been given Tylenol and Toradol), the resident said "oh well you were shot, you're supposed to be in pain." He left Kevin sitting in excruciating pain for over an hour and he only eventually did bring it because I had to continue to check up on where the medicine was.

So, I think that it's safe to say that this has been a traumatic experience for Kevin as well as myself, my sister, and our friends that were also present at the shooting location. Unfortunately, the trauma is only beginning as the shooters have still not been caught. Even when they are caught, we will have to relive this experience through the trials and only hope that there can be some justice.

The reasons for this GoFundMe are for the following:

1) To pay for Kevin's hospital stay and further care he will need regarding PT/OT and yearly CT scans to check on the bullet in his chest.

2) To pay for much needed therapy and group therapy for Kevin, myself, my sister, and the friends that were present during the incident, and his family.

3) To pay for all legal fees needed for the trial and investigation.

4) To help Kevin with his bills during his time of absence at work due to his injuries and PTSD.

I want to thank each and every person who has been there to support Kevin through his hospital stay; he would not be as strong and able to come home without his loved ones checking in on him the entire time.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank anyone who chooses to donate, share, or even just send kind words and prayers our way so that Kevin and everyone involved can heal and move on from this horrible night.

I also want to warn everyone, especially those in Chicago, to be aware of their surroundings and be careful wherever you go. I would never have imagined this to happen to us, especially not in the Loop surrounded by over 15 other people. Please stay safe and hold your loved ones close to you because we never know what the future holds. At the end of the day, little annoyances don't matter as long as you are able to be with the ones who you truly care about.

Thank you so much and Stay safe

XOXO

Amanda & Kevin