{"id":15002,"date":"2023-07-04T05:14:34","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T10:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=15002"},"modified":"2023-07-04T05:14:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T10:14:37","slug":"the-aftermath-of-mass-shootings-infiltrates-every-corner-of-survivors-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=15002","title":{"rendered":"The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors\u2019 lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting<\/u><\/a> that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family is skipping Fourth of July celebrations to avoid booming fireworks. An outing to the Little Mermaid movie requires noise-canceling headphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence, with that number continuing to grow<\/u><\/a>, according to the Gun Violence Archive<\/u><\/a>. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors talked to The Associated Press about the mental and physical wounds that endure in the aftermath of shootings in Uvalde; Las Vegas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, during a Fourth of July parade last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They describe staggering medical bills that in Mayah\u2019s case top $1 million, abandoning a dream career after 20 years, uprooting families and struggling to hold down a job, walk pets or even leave the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayah suffered wounds to her chest, back, both hands, face and ear, and needed so many surgeries her parents said they stopped counting. The family relocated to San Antonio, where Mayah spent 66 days in the hospital and still needs care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer hospital bill is insane,\u201d said Mayah\u2019s mother, Christina Zamora. \u201cIt reaches close to $1,000,000, maybe over,\u201d not including rehabilitation, follow-up visits and counseling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, Christina and Mayah\u2019s father, Ruben, said they don\u2019t know what bills will be covered by insurance and how much they will need to pay. When Mayah was discharged, they realized one parent needed to stay home to care for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christina quit her job. Facing daunting bills with one income instead of two is scary, she said. The relocation also has separated the family: Ruben works seven days on, seven off in Uvalde. The couple\u2019s oldest son, Ruben Jr., stayed in Uvalde to attend college and work. Zach, 12, \u201cmisses him. He misses our old normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayah is terrified to return to Uvalde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking when your little one can\u2019t enjoy the things that she did before, and all these other kids are able to do,\u201d the elder Ruben said. \u201cIt tears you up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COLORADO SPRINGS<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ashtin Gamblin was working the front door at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19 when a person armed with a semiautomatic rifle shot and killed five people and injured 17 more<\/u><\/a>, including Gamblin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was shot nine times. Five to my left arm. Twice to my right arm. Twice to my left breast. Both of my humerus were shattered. So two broken arms,\u201d the 30-year-old said. Six months later, \u201cmy right arm is still fractured. My left hand, we\u2019re still working on function.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tasks that were once simple, such as walking her dogs, are now challenging and the loss of autonomy has been difficult, Gamblin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has battled with health insurance, the hospital and worker\u2019s compensation officials to figure out who would foot the $300,000 medical bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gamblin also no longer felt safe in her apartment, where she could sometimes hear gunshots outside. She bought a house in a quieter neighborhood: \u201ca house I wasn\u2019t prepared to buy,\u201d she said. \u201cI bought a $380,000 safe space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She lists other unexpected post-shooting costs: a flooded basement, a service animal, a new car to get to doctor\u2019s appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half a year later she is not mentally recovered enough to return to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t be there\u2026 I don\u2019t feel safe going to the grocery store. I don\u2019t feel safe being in public,\u201d she said. \u201cI have no idea what I\u2019m doing with my life currently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far in 2023, nearly 400 people in the U.S. have been wounded in mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. And 140 people have died in mass killings this year, which is on track to surpass 2019, the deadliest year on record for mass killings since 2006, according to a database<\/u><\/a> maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a lot of focus on the people that are killed. And I\u2019m grateful for that. Those are my friends and they deserved all of the attention and more,\u201d Gamblin said. \u201cThe downfall is the rest of us are still suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAS VEGAS<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tia Christiansen had worked in the music industry for more than 20 years when a gunman unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history<\/u><\/a> at a Las Vegas music festival she helped organize in October 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shooter rained gunfire from the windows of a high-rise casino hotel into an outdoor concert crowd, killing 58 people and injuring more than 850.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christiansen was scheduled to be at the festival that day. But she felt ill and stayed in her room, two doors down from where the gunman fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe room was shaking. It was incredibly loud. There was actually a moment when the gunfire was so loud that I literally instinctively ducked and put my hands over my head because I thought that the walls or the ceiling would come crumbling down,\u201d Christiansen said. \u201cI completely reconciled my life and thought, \u2018Am I ready to die?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was physically unscathed. But her life turned upside down. After the shooting, she worked a few more festivals, until she \u201chad a complete, total breakdown on site crying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I came to understand about myself in that moment was, I don\u2019t know if I can do this anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At concerts, Christiansen no longer focused on fans\u2019 joy, instead fixating on emergency exits and whether people could get to safety. She has since given up her career in the music industry, letting go of her dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her lingering PTSD and need to control her environment also has affected Christiansen\u2019s relationships with her friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy personality changes. I get very short tempered, and I get very judgmental. I\u2019m quick to be snippy,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is heavy energy to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christiansen, who is based in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, turned to spending. She bought a new bed to try to find more comfort and relied on delivered meals to avoid leaving her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe financial aspect of it is crushing, absolutely crushing,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how many years it\u2019s gonna take to pay that off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Christiansen is part of a mentorship program for the Everytown Survivors Network, which connects thousands of gun violence survivors to resources and aims to end gun violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe trauma doesn\u2019t go away,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if you\u2019re not wounded in the moment, there is injury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIGHLAND PARK<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leah Sundheim, 29, was a night manager at a hotel in Las Vegas when she got \u201cthe worst phone call you can ever receive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, had been killed at a shooting during Highland Park\u2019s 2022 Fourth of July parade, along with six other people<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat flight home broke me,\u201d Sundheim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She then moved back to Highland Park to be close to her father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t be away from my family,\u201d Sundheim said. \u201cI can\u2019t do another flight like that ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mass shootings cause a variety of trauma, she said. Her experience is different from that of her aunt and cousins, who were sitting next to Jacquelyn Sundheim when she died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have the visual and sound\u2026 of watching her be murdered, and my dad has the trauma of receiving the phone call and then subsequent hours trying to get to her body. My trauma is waking up to my phone ringing and hearing that my mom was killed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whichever type of trauma survivors experience, she said, \u201cit shatters the sense of security that you have in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling. Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family is skipping Fourth of July celebrations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5784,1154],"tags":[9432,3060,9433,9434,1537,3413],"class_list":["post-15002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-trending","tag-emotional","tag-gun-violence","tag-medical-costs","tag-physical-trauma","tag-shootings","tag-survivors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15004,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15002\/revisions\/15004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}