After a string of shootings over Mother’s Day weekend, a Cleveland woman who was paralyzed by a stray bullet ten years ago said the senseless violence is unavoidable; and she’s doing everything she can to inspire other victims to overcome their injuries.
Tara Lee was just 19-years-old when she was struck by a stray bullet on the walk from the grocery store to her car in April 2006.
“I still remember that night like it was yesterday,” Lee told newsnet5.com. “It haunts me really.”
The bullet struck Lee in the arm, tore through her lung and hit her in the spine.
“I went from being a young adult to an infant in a matter of a snap,” she said.
After a string of recent shootings on Cleveland’s east side, Lee said news of more innocent bystanders becoming victims is upsetting. But it’s part of life in her neighborhood.
“You’re wondering am I going to die next?” she said. “And you can’t go through life thinking like that.”
But she said a recent trip to her doctor brought good news.
“I squeezed my leg, let it go and he felt a flicker,” said Lee, who soon became inspired that she will walk again.
Her doctor recommended intensive therapy provided by a special clinic in Atlanta.
Lee’s friends and family have already started a Go Fund Me page to help finance Lee’s trip.
“I’m going to be a miracle,” she said. “And I just want to show it to the world.”
Lee hopes to be walking by her 30th birthday, which is August 3.
