Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, one year after being shot in the hip during a softball practice with congressional teammates on June 14, 2017, reflected on the incident. “You can’t explain some of the things that happened on that ball field except that God performed real miracles,” he told CBN News.
A gunman fired several shots, striking Scalise. “I went down, I crawled away and then eventually my arms and legs just gave out,” Scalise explains.
Scalise says, “I prayed and asked [God] for very specific things. At that point this calm came over me because I felt God was going to take care of me.” Capitol police officers assigned to Scalise fired at the shooter. Although the officers also were wounded in the process, they eventually took the shooter down.
Some of the answers to his prayer include the presence of Congressman Brad Wenstrup, R-OH, a former combat surgeon, who immediately treated Scalise to stop the bleeding. When EMTs arrived, they quickly loaded Scalise into an ambulance, then diverted him to a nearby helicopter. “They said maybe one more minute and I wouldn’t have made it,” Scalise says. “I would have died in the ambulance, there’s no doubt about it.”
When Scalise reached the hospital, he had no blood pressure. He lay unconscious for three days before waking up. Even in the hospital, he faced danger after developing a life-threatening infection.
“They weren’t sure whether I was going to make it those first few days, but finally I did and thank God for the miracles and for the prayers from all around the country,” says Scalise. “[There was an] unbelievable, overwhelming amount of prayers and support from people I know and I don’t know, and I’m so thankful for that.”
Less than four months after the shooting, Scalise triumphantly returned to Congress, praising the Lord for sparing his life. Although his recovery has been remarkable, challenges still lie ahead.
Facing rigorous physical therapy multiple days a week, he asks for continued prayer for healing. “Please pray that my nerves that have been injured from the attack can come back and function. A lot of them are, and I’m so blessed to be able to do the things I do now.”
–ABIGAIL ROBERTSON, adapted from CBN News
