Young Man Who Was Shot Now Doctor at Hospital That Saved His Life

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Kevin Morton Jr. faced an uncertain future when he was shot 9 years ago, but now the young man is fully recovered and will soon begin his new career at the hospital that gave him a second chance.

Morton just recently graduated from medical school and is set to start his residency at St. John Hospital, a place that he holds very dear to his heart. On July 9, 2007 the young man was leaving work and had just gotten into his car when someone came to the window and fired, shooting him in the abdomen. He was rushed to St. John, where his prognosis was quite grim.”One of the residents told my family that I had a 10 percent chance of making it through the night because they were having trouble controlling the bleeding,” he told People.

After 50 days in the hospital, 6 surgeries and the loss of half of his pancreas and parts of his intestine, he was able to go home. The fight for his life was over, but the fight to stay alive had just begun- for the following year, Morton could not eat and was only able to be fed through an IV. His recovery took two years total.

Once recovered, Morton went back to school at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan and now, he’s earned his degree from Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. At the end of June, the now husband and father will begin his residency at St. John Hospital where, according to People, he “will do rotations in pediatrics and trauma there this year.”It’s just a weird feeling walking through the halls on the other side of the bed,” Morton said of his return to the hospital. Regardless, he knows he chose the right profession. “I wanted to have a profession where I can help people the way Dr. Sheth helped me,” he says. “I wanted to pay it forward.”

Wow! Nine years after surviving a gunshot wound, Kevin Morton Jr. returns to the same hospital that saved his life, but not as a patient… as a doctor! When Kevin was younger, he thought about becoming a doctor but didn’t have nor see any role models in his field of interest while attending high school in Detroit. However, a few years after enrolling in Oakland University to study biochemistry, Kevin would find that role model that he was looking for in Dr. Dharti Sheth-Zelmanski: the surgeon that saved his life after he suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen in 2007. Now, 31-year-old Kevin is a recent graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is set to start his residency next month at the same Detroit hospital where Dr. Sheth-Zelmanski both saved and inspired him. “I want to be there for someone else and keep paying it forward. If I am ever in that situation, I hope God gives me the necessary skills, confidence and steady hands to save someone’s life, like Dr. Sheth did for me.” Congratulations, Kevin! Your perseverance and commitment to give back is an inspiration to us all! To watch the full video, please visit our Facebook page: Because of Them We Can #becauseofthemwecan #blackexcellence

A video posted by Because of Them, We Can (@becauseofthem) on May 11, 2016 at 11:21am PDT

Photo Credit: NBC Nightly News Screenshot

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