A special little girl with facial disfigurements touches the lives of all that she meets. She was shot in the face a year ago in a drive by shooting, and she faces years of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
This is her story, in her own words.
Honee' Johnson was the child featured in the story, "Shot In The Face!".
Honee' Ty'eisha Nicole Johnson is my name, and I am seven years old. I'll be eight on Christmas Day, December 25th.
I was shot in the face last year when a car with bad kids went by, and they started shooting. I was playing with my friends Kiyoki Matabe and Torrie Gladstone when I was shot, and I really don't remember much except the pain in my face and the noise of the gun going off. It all happened so fast, and the next time I was aware, I woke up in a hospital bed, bandages on my face, and in much pain. I couldn't see much because of the bandages over my face, but I could hear momma's voice, and sometimes daddy's voice, and that comforted me, especially when they held my hands.
I was in the hospital for about a month, but my doctor, Dr. Ruben, says that I will need more surgery on my face because my face was messed up from the bullet. I guess I looked pretty horrible, but now, when I see my face in a mirror, I feel sad because it's like a totally different little girl is looking back at me, and what I see is ugly, and that makes me unhappy. I do not know why that kid shot me in the face, but he did, and now I have to live with the scars and more hospital stays and surgeries for a very long time to come. The kid who shot me was only a kid himself: he was only 11, and I don't know why he did it, but he did, and now I am the one who has to suffer.
But I am not mad; I am more sad than anything. I am not mad because it doesn't do any good to be mad, and besides, in Sunday school, we are learning about forgiveness, and Jesus says for us to forgive those who hurt or do mean things to us, and we should pray for them, so I pray for the boy who shot me. I pray for him every day, and I pray that he finds Jesus in his heart one day. Maybe if he does, he'll come back and say that he is sorry for shooting me in the face; and who knows? Maybe we could become friends.
I am a Christian, and I go to Christ Community Assembly of God here in Nashville, where I live with my mommy, daddy, and my brothers, Cory (4), Dallas (6), and William (9). I also have my older sisters Tyffani (10) and Gretchen (13). I am in the second grade at Eastview Elementary, and my teacher's name is Mrs. Wonder (that is her REAL name, HONEST!). (I once asked her if she was related to soul singer, Stevie Wonder, but she didn't think she was!) I love school, but I would like it a lot better if kids didn't tease me about my face so much. They call me names like "Monster" or "Ugly", and it makes me sad; I don't tease them, why, then, should they tease ME??
I didn't ask to be shot in the face, but I was, and I am having to learn to cope with bad memories and bad dreams. We have been going to see the mental health lady at the mental health clinic, and we talk about my being shot and how it made us all feel; and it helps to talk about it, but I don't like thinking about it. It is hard though, especially when I still have the bad dreams or have to talk about it with the mental health lady or when I look in the mirror and see my scarred up face. I don't think I am pretty anymore, and I wonder why I had to be the one who was shot and not someone else.
I wish more people could like me for who I am, and not just notice my face; I am more than my face, and I am a little girl who has feelings. I don't like this any better than anyone else does, and I am now going around, speaking at schools with my mommy, about my story and what it means to live with a problem like mine. I am teaching other people about accepting people who are different, and that even though we may appear to be different on the outside, we are still the same on the inside, and my face is nothing to be scared of. I am just a kid who got shot, and I am having to learn to live with the bad memories, and I want to tell other people that something like what happened to me CAN happen to them. I was once a normal kid; now I have a scarred up face, and my life will never be the same again. My life as I knew it was forever changed by a kid's wrong decision and a bullet, and now I will have to live with this for the rest of my life.
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Reviewed by P. Michaels
1/28/2004
Karen, you've written so many stories! I've read this one and Jenna's story. Both are excellent. Is this the one that will soon be published with other short stories? Have you ever thought about writing a novel? I'll be coming back to read more.
Love, Patty
Wonderful story but very sad about Honee. Again, you wrote about the medical conditions so very well. Are you SURE you are not a PA or RNA?
Take care! Brava! Into my library this goes!
Jim's neice was shot by her much younger cousin. He was just 8 years old, showing her his dad's shotgun and it went off. Dad had not emptied the bullets out and had left it lying around. Half her head was shot away and they said she would never recover, so the plug was pulled. The little boy, now a man, had nightmares for years and his grandfather blamed him, never forgave him, but it was his father who was really to blame due to his carelessness in leaving a loaded gun lying around. Jackie <> <
this is a dramatic continuation of honee's story...wow--i was mesmerized! i especially like the fact that she is a christian, and is praying for the boy who shot her
that's what Jesus would have us do--pray for our enemies, and forgive those that have done you wrong--if Jesus could forgive those that put Him to death, how much more can we forgive our wrongdoers?
These timeless quotations culled from the celebrated corpus of writings by W.E.B. Du Bois are presented with illuminating introductory essays by Aberjhani. Narration of the Audible book performed by Catherine Byers.
He Keeps Me is a devotional journey of revelation and insight birthed out of prayer.Searching the Word of God revealed the many ways that He has kept me and continues to keep me. Each day is an opportunity to recognize that God is mindful of you, eve
