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Reed Survived A Shotgun Blast, But Still Is Recuperating

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Reed shows the scars on his back, which are from multiple surgeries.

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: February 22, 2008

SEBRING — Jonathan "J" Reed was relaxed Wednesday morning, lighting a cigarette on his patio before his 3 p.m. shift.

He just started back to work on light duty about a week ago as an assistant manager for Outback Steakhouse in Sebring. He and his family and friends thought it was a quick return to the job.

Just a month and a half ago he was lying on the floor inside this home, critically wounded from shotgun blast in the back during a home invasion attempt.

"It's really miraculous that I did heal so fast," he said. "I may be blessed."

'Completely Unexpected'

Reed said he remembered nearly everything that happened to him Jan. 8, a typical day for him. He had a few friends over that night.

He was going to close the front gate when he saw two armed assailants standing there.

"Are you guys serious?" he remembered asking them. "Yeah, get inside, give us all your money ..."
The next thing he recalled was a burning sensation on his back. He was shot, but all he knew was that he couldn't stand up, as his friends raced to him from inside the house.

He only realized he had been shot when he coughed up blood.
The experience was "very, very surreal."

"It was pretty painful. It was something I never expected to happen to me," he said.

But even as he was lying wounded on the floor that night, Reed said that the thought of dying never crossed his mind. He worried more about his medical bills. He had no health insurance.

"I remember being loaded into an ambulance, having a few words with the EMT. Then I remember waking up with a ventilator," he said.

In the middle of it, he said one of them offered to airlift him, but he refused and said that Florida Hospital was near his house.

In hindsight, "I never understood the severity of the situation," Reed said.

Layla Haynes, his girlfriend, heard about the attack and had her mother drive her to the hospital, since she was too much of a "wreck" to drive herself.

"I didn't know if he was going to live or walk or move all his arms and legs," Haynes said.

But Reed? "He's a very laid-back kind of person," Haynes added. "He was like 'don't worry, don't worry' after he woke up."

Healing

Reed and Haynes said that Reed's doctor described his 2.5-inch wound as the biggest one they have ever stitched up at the hospital.

Still, he was released five days later. His right shoulder blade was chipped by the shotgun blast, but other than that, Reed said it was mostly a muscle injury.

He got a better idea of that muscle injury two weeks later, when he went to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office to get his wallet and keys back. He took a look at the evidence list.

"I read there were five chunks of muscle mass in the evidence department," Reed said. He asked to look at those chunks of his own blasted-off flesh, but the sheriff's office officials wouldn't permit it.
"It's weird, isn't it?" he wondered.

By Wednesday, he hadn't started with physical therapy for his right arm and said it was still weak. While he could do most of his house chores, cut and cook a steak, brush his teeth and take showers, he couldn't do any heavy lifting. He couldn't reach behind himself, either, or bring his arm above his head.

Financially, he said the hospital stay was covered through Florida's Victims Compensation Trust Fund, which covers victims of violent crimes. That didn't cover the month he spent out of work because of his injury, and he said he fell behind on the bills.

Reed still believed he'll get those abilities back eventually. He also felt his friends, his family and Haynes had been very supportive of him, nursing him and his helping around the house after he got out of the hospital.

"Thank the Lord for my aunt and cousin," he said. "Friends and family are the reason I think I recovered so fast."

IF YOU GO
WHAT: The J Reed Fund Benefit.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 23. Barbecue is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. while the raffle will begin after the barbecue.
WHERE: Wild Turkey Tavern, 2751 U.S. 27 S., Avon Park
COST: Barbecue tickets are $6 if bought in advance or $10 if bought Saturday. Raffle tickets are $2 each, or $5 for four tickets or $20 for 20 tickets.
For more information, to make donations for the raffle or to purchase advance barbecue tickets, call the Wild Turkey Tavern at 452-5284.

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