(WSVN) - A family is celebrating the miraculous recovery of their little boy who accidentally shot himself years ago.
He’s now living a normal life, and his mother is among those sharing a lesson she hopes will save lives.
“I’m very proud of him,” said Dorphise Jean, the young boy’s mother. “Every single day I tell him that he has inspired me.”
Jean said her son, Darnal Mundy, is her hero.
She has even put those words and feelings to paper. She is now working on a comic book all about her 9-year-old son.
Six years ago, she didn’t know if he would make it.
“It has been very traumatizing,” she said. “Even though he doesn’t remember, me and his father do remember what transpired that day, and you know, I love this little boy.”
On Aug. 4, 2015, when Mundy was 3 years old, he was looking for his iPad, but Jean said, he found his father’s gun instead and accidentally shot himself in the head.
He spent several months in the pediatric intensive care at Holtz Children’s Hospital.
“I don’t want to see this situation happen again,” Jean said.
He and his mother returned on Monday morning to help deliver an important message.
“Today is ASK day,” said Carlos Migoya, CEO of Jackson Health System. “ASK stands for Asking Saves Kids.”
“So we’re asking the community as a whole to ask the right questions, to have the right conversations about the proper storage of firearms or any type of arms or weapon at home,” said Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent.
The goal is to make sure parents and guardians are aware, making sure guns are locked, unloaded and safely stored, not only in their own homes, but also in family members’ and friends’ homes.
“A question as simple as, ‘Is there an unlocked gun in your house?’ can indeed save your child’s life,” said Dr. Alana Arnold of Jackson North Medical Center’s Pediatric Emergency Department, and co-investigator for Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami.
“As one of the top children’s hospitals in Florida, our nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals unfortunately regularly witness the devastation that accidental shootings have on a young patient and their loved ones,” said Hamilton Clark, CEO of Holtz Children’s hospital.
With school out for the summer, experts said now is the time to take this message seriously.
“Thank you!” Mundy said.
Before your child’s next play date, when you’re asking about pets in the house or food allergies, don’t forget to ask about firearms in the home too.
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