Gunshot survivor honors trauma surgeons

Romero [? McFarland ?] says he was an innocent bystander when he was shot by police in Kingston, Jamaica, back in 2020. I accepted that I was going to die, and my right arm basically just went numb.

That right arm is his livelihood. He's an artist, a painter. [? ROMERO MCFARLAND: ?] I saw pretty much all my good years in college. I mean, you see happen in movies all the time. It all flashed before your eyes? I didn't know it was real until when I experienced it for myself.

He was rushed to the hospital. Bullets had hit his skull and his back, but all he could think about was that arm. How long were you in the hospital at that first stay? 21 days. And then when you went home, you are going home with-- With the colostomy bag. Colostomy bag, without the use of your right hand, vision loss. Yeah.

During a visit to family in New York six months later, a fall sent him to this level one trauma center, where American doctors see gunshot wounds every day. Gun violence today is an epidemic in the United States, and the doctors here at Jacoby Hospital, like those around the country, have developed the skills of combat medics when it comes to gun violence. It seems, on a daily basis, we're seeing it more.

Dr. John McNelis led the team of trauma surgeons who extracted bullet fragments from his eye, torso, and arm. So even though there are headlines where violent assaults and homicides are declining year over year, you're not necessarily feeling that because you're still seeing cases every day? I'm not one to comment on those statistics. Out of my area. I just know that we're seeing it.

Dr. Laurie Hirsh worked to restore [? McFarland's ?] use of his right hand. The thing that strikes me the most about him, his optimism throughout everything.

He's able to even paint again with his right hand, if he wants to. What is that for you, as a physician? Utterly gratifying.

And during his recovery, using his left hand, he was working on something of his own. Oh my God. Yeah. Wow. It's me. I personally believe that doctors are real-life superheroes.

What was that like receiving this piece of art from him? I was overwhelmed. He was willing to accept what life handed him, and he reached for the stars and got them.

And what he gave back to the trauma doctors will stay with them forever. You're welcome.

Anna Schecter, CBS News, New York.