GASTONIA, N.C. — A man was hurt so badly in a shooting that a police report declared him dead.
Three years later, he’s defying the odds.
He’s now walking with the help of a brace, something even his doctor didn’t expect to see so soon.
He was shot by a coworker who he thought was a friend inside a car at the corner of East Long Avenue and North Broad Street in Gastonia.
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Jose Sanchez remembers seeing the gun in the car and going stiff after the first shot. His next memory is waking up in the hospital and later learning he was paralyzed from the chest down.
He said he always had hope he would walk again, but this is a game changer.
Sanchez is doing something that seemed impossible years ago.
“One miracle that God can do, you know,” he said.
This is a step farther than doctors believed he could take. Recently he dreamt of running.
“Just hopeful,” Sanchez said. “It’s coming. I know it’s coming.”
He says he hadn’t gotten out of his wheelchair in about three years. He had a night out with coworkers on Halloween of 2022 that ended on Broad Street. Sanchez said one began acting strange.
They decided to drive him home. Once in the car, Malik Prince shot him in the back three times. Sanchez was pronounced dead, but was revived.
Prince was found guilty of attempted murder.
“The doctor told me I was going to be paralyzed. I obviously cried,” Sanchez said.
A few months ago, he came to Advance Prosthetics for help.
“It’s amazing how far Jose has come with his progression of those braces,” said Dr. Kevin Clevinger.
Clevinger said in December he tried braces on Sanchez for the first time. He took 15 steps.
“I was surprised,” the doctor said. “I was wanting him to stand and maybe take one step with help.”
A computerized hydraulic knee brace helps provide balance and can be controlled with a phone app. It’s ideal for people like Sanchez or people recovering from a stroke or several other medical issues.
“These patients have new hope that they can think of now walking,” said Rakesh Jain, the CEO of Advanced Prosthetics.
Sanchez is full of hope. He can put the paralyzing shooting behind him now.
“Looking for the future,” he said. “I know I’m going to walk again.”
Sanchez said he is alive because an officer heard the shots and ran over. He tried to become an officer before the shooting.
He hopes that can be part of his future now.
VIDEO: One person killed in Gastonia shooting
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