Gun Violence Survivor Shares Harrowing Story
Oronde McClain was just 10 years old when a stray bullet struck him on a Philadelphia street corner. The impact shattered the back of his skull into 36 pieces, plunging him into a coma for seven weeks and leaving him partly paralyzed on his right side. Today, at 33, McClain continues to endure seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a recent study published in Health Affairs, child and adolescent survivors of gun violence were found to be more likely to experience a pain disorder, develop a psychiatric diagnosis, and develop a substance use disorder in the year following their injuries. Firearms remain the leading cause of death for individuals ages 1 to 19 in the United States, with more than 48,000 Americans killed by firearms in 2022 and an average of about 85,000 surviving firearm injuries each year.
The financial and psychological toll on survivors and their families are significant. A child’s gunshot wound adds an average of $35,000 to healthcare costs compared to those who weren’t shot, and psychiatric disorders were found to be more common among parents of injured children.
Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, expressed that the population affected by firearm violence is much larger than deaths alone, emphasizing the obligation to help families and communities heal, both physically and emotionally.
McClain has turned his experience into a way to help others, co-producing a documentary and working to improve news coverage of gun violence. “My therapy is helping people,” he said. “I have to wake up and save somebody every day.”
Survivors are often left feeling abandoned and overlooked, McClain said. “They push you out of the hospital like you have a normal life,” he said. “But you will never have a normal life. You are in this club that you don’t want to be in.”
McClain’s story is a stark reminder of the lasting impact of gun violence and the ongoing challenges faced by survivors and their families.