Will Flanagan, the former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, said he was "inches from death" after he was brutally stabbed last week.

Flanagan was jumped and stabbed several times on Hartwell Street back on October 20, not far from the marijuana dispensary he owns. He was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford.

Corree Gonzales, 31, of Fall River, was arrested the next day and charged in the attack. He's being held for a mental health evaluation. Current Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said Gonzales has "severe mental health issues."

"Face to face with death"

"I came face to face with death. A man, lost in psychosis, stabbed me multiple times - in my face, in my body, and in my neck. I can still feel the weight of those moments. The sound. The fear. The realization that I might never see my family again. That I might never tell my family I loved them one last time," Flanagan wrote in a social media post Tuesday. They were his first public comments since the attack.

"I remember falling, feeling my own blood, and praying - not for myself, but for one more chance. One more breath. One more sunrise. And by the grace of God, I got that chance."

"Gave me back my future"

Flanagan praised everyone who helped him during his recovery in the last week.

"Because of the bravery of police officers who ran toward danger... Because of the strength of EMTs and Firefighters who fought to keep me alive when every second counted... Because of the skill, mercy, and love of the doctors and nurses at Saint Luke's who refused to give up on me - I am still here. They didn't just save my life. They gave me back my future. I was inches from death - and yet somehow, God said "Not today."

Flanagan was Fall River's mayor from 2010 until 2014 when he lost a recall election.

Fall River is about 50 miles south of Boston.