BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 26, 2015–The survival of Rafael Cruz, 28, of Mayflower Street, in the area called Bailar, or Ghost Town – who was shot five times while walking on Vernon Street, just a short distance from his house in June of 2014 – is considered a miracle.

One of two gunmen stood over him and shot him in the head, neck, mouth, leg and back while he was on the ground. Cruz was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where he was connected to a life support unit, and doctors had given him a slim chance of surviving the vicious attack on his life.

Five months after the brutal gun attack, however, Cruz was discharged from the KHMH and is back home with his family. He is now undergoing therapy, three times per week, to rehabilitate his muscles.

His mother told Amandala that Cruz is confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk due to a bullet that is lodged in his spine. Doctors who treated him have indicated that he will walk again, but did not give a time frame for his recovery. The doctors told her that even when he walks again, he will not walk normally due to the damage to his spine, Cruz’s mother stated.

Cruz’s mother said that she is the one taking care of him, and since he is confined to a wheelchair, it is a challenge for him to go to the bathroom and to do other personal tasks. To alleviate the situation, he wears disposable diapers.

Cruz’s mother is seeking monetary assistance from the public to buy much needed items, and to take Cruz to and from the hospital three times per week.

The family can be contacted in the Bailar Area on Mayflower Street.

According to a police report, Cruz had been riding his bicycle on Vernon Street, heading in the direction of Central American Boulevard, when, upon reaching in front of Mendoza’s Automotive Auto parts, he was approached from behind by two men riding on a motorcycle, one of whom shot him.