ATLANTA, Ga. (InvestigateTV) – It’s impossible to put a price tag on someone’s life, but the financial burden of surviving a shooting can be costly to survivors, families, and taxpayers.
But analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety finds American taxpayers spend an estimated $12 billion a year in costs associated with shootings.
One of those shooting victims includes Abriya Ellison, who was hit by a bullet while playing in a bounce house during a birthday party near College Park, a city near Atlanta, in 2017. She was 5 years old.
A medical helicopter rushed her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The outlook was grim.
Ellison’s grandmother, Harriot Douglas, sought a divine diagnosis. “I prayed to God that day and I told God, ‘I don’t ask for much, but if you let her stay, we will do any and everything possible to keep her happy,” Douglas said.
Ellison survived, but it came at a price.
The bullet that hit her spine left her partially paralyzed. She’s undergone at least 15 surgeries so far and hopes walk again one day. In February, doctors installed eight screws from her neck down her back to keep her spine straight.
“It is still painful. Sometimes you touch it on her and she jumps. She’ll let you know it hurts,” said Ellison’s mother, Andre’Auna Douglas.
The financial impact of the shooting has been financially devastating. Over the past seven years, they’ve spent thousands on robotic therapy not covered by insurance; new vehicles to accommodate wheelchairs; and a special bed to prevent bedsores.
Each day, Douglas pushes her daughter’s wheelchair up a hill outside their apartment to access their SUV because their complex won’t build a ramp. The family had to renovate a bathroom so Ellison could shower sitting down.
Friends created online donation drives to raise money, but it’s never enough. “There were many days where I was like, I’m trying to put a little bit together just to get one meal,” Douglas said. “So, we learn to make do…
Read the full article here
