Savannah veteran shares recovery after shooting left him paralyzed 3 years ago

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - You may remember the story of local veteran Michael Gibson, who was shot three years ago while taking his dog out.

This is the first time Gibson has been able to speak about his story because the shooting left him paralyzed.

On Aug. 27, 2018, Michael Gibson was walking his dog around 1:00 a.m. when he noticed men trying to break into his neighbor’s car. He said he was trying to get a license plate number when they drove by and shot him. Michael said he’s now a C6 quadriplegic.

“I was actually trying to communicate with the police officers with my blinking. Blink SOS, blinking left, right, up, down for yes and no. I was able to push out the word ‘neck’ when no one knew where I was hit,” he said.

Gibson has come a long way since the shooting, but he still has a paralyzed vocal cord.

“When your spinal cord isn’t able to communicate with the rest of your body, it’s so much more than just not being able to walk,” said his wife Felicia Gibson.

Felicia and Michael got engaged while he was recovering in the ICU. Saturday marked three years since they’ve been married.

“By golly, she’s been here every step of the way,” said Michael.

Michael said detectives have been in touch with him in the past year, but there hasn’t been much progress on the case.

“I’m not going to say that they’ve given up. There hasn’t been much fruits of their labor,” he said.

The Savannah Police did confirm there were no updates to the investigation.

The Gibsons both say it would be nice to know they are off the streets.

“I mean, if we can make it through this in the first three years of being married, five years of being together, then we can do anything,” said Felicia.

Since Michael’s accident, Felicia has been doing a lot of advocacy to raise awareness about people living with spinal cord injuries. They are involved in the Christopher and Dana Reeve Run & Roll, a virtual 5k starting September 25 to raise awareness for people living with paralysis and spinal cord injuries. To supports the Gibsons’ team, search “Once Upon a Midnight Gibby” under Teams.

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