When Donna Barbour was out one day tending to her yard, she never knew that her whole life would be changed in an instant. One man's accident could have ended up killing her, but instead, it saved her life...
Donna's Garden
Donna Barbour lived a quiet, normal life. She spent most of her days in her beautiful backyard garden, bringing it to its fullest glory. She wanted it to be perfect, and when she was out in the garden, she really got in the zone. She was focused, determined, and mindful in her work. She had had a long day at work and used the garden as a distraction. Little did she know, the garden wouldn't be her biggest distraction today...
Something Hits
Donna was thinking deeply about when she would start up the grill for dinner when she wandered onto the patio. Just at that instant though, she felt a devastating blow on the right side of her neck. "It felt as though someone had hit me with a baseball bat," she would later recall. It wasn't a baseball bat though. In fact, it was a shot they never expected in their small town...
An Arrow Wound
Donna reached up and felt something strange lodged in the side of her neck. It was unmistakably the feeling of an arrow! She quickly screamed out in pain, begging her husband to come from inside the house. There was no one aside from her alone in the yard at the time, so where could it have come from? Her husband dashed out of the back door...
Next Steps
Her husband Ed had been on the phone with their adult daughter Keila at the time and still had the phone in his hand. As soon as he spotted the damage in the garden though, he dropped the phone and ran to Donna's side. They didn't know what to do, but there sure was a lot of blood. Panicking, Ed asked his wife to lay down on the couch while he called the police...
Panic Sets In
As Ed called the police, Donna panicked. She was beginning to lose a lot of blood, and she was realizing the severity of her situation. "I lay there and prayed. I didn’t know if there was any way that I could survive," she recalled. It was all starting to get to her, and she was falling in and out of consciousness. What happened next was a little hazy for Donna, as she struggled to hold on much longer...
Suspect Found
The arrow had come from a nearby man who was practicing hunting in his backyard. He was using a compound bow and arrow and one arrow shot went awry, very awry. He was thankfully using a practice arrow, which is smooth and round on the end instead of pointed and sharp. A normal broadhead arrow would have most likely killed Donna instantly...
Shooting North
The man lived just across the street from the couple and was shooting north to practice. The arrow had ricocheted off of something else and headed back south. It went through trees and landed right in the side of Donna's neck. He had no idea what his target practice would do to someone else, but no one could have predicted what came from this accident...
Cheap Regrets
Later, the man would tell Donna that he and other locals in the area had gathered to pray for her and her family. This was especially important to Donna, who was deeply religious. The people in her town had a service in her honor while she was away, and the neighbor felt guilty for his action. Soon though, he'd learn what a big help he'd actually been...
Paramedics Arrive
It wasn't long after Ed's call that the emergency medical team arrived at the scene. Donna described her medical professionals as "perfectly calm and totally focused," which was pretty good considering what she was going through. A medical helicopter was ultimately called to whisk Donna away from the scene and to receive serious medical attention at a nearby hospital.
Hospital Bound
She was flown to the closest city with a trauma center, Amarillo, Texas, which is about 65 miles away. Shockingly, Donna wasn't scared at all. "I felt complete peace. [...] I felt certain that everything would be fine." She had no idea that this trip would be the one that would change her life for the better. She arrived at the hospital to find family and friends waiting, but the trouble had only just begun...
A Standard CT Scan
Donna was brought into the hospital for a standard CT scan that would be able to locate the top of the arrow within the confines of her neck. According to the nurses there, they determined that the arrow had gone between the carotid artery and the jugular vein. She was lucky to be alive! It was a miracle she survived, but the miracles didn't stop there...
The Space Between
Apparently, there was less than an inch between the two, Donna really did survive the impossible. However, her journey wasn't over quite yet. When the arrow had entered her neck, it pushed aside an artery. Remarkably, it had not been cut or nicked in any way, just moved. This medical anomaly would lead doctors to an incredible discovery...
Seeing Something
The surgery to remove the arrow took about two hours, but the trouble was just beginning. When the doctors were searching for the piece of the arrow in the neck, they found something much darker on their monitors. It was a brain tumor! Donna and her family were shocked. She later would say she went numb at the news. What would this mean for her?
A Difficult Location
The doctors were optimistic that the tumor was benign, but there was another problem. The tumor was located deep in her brain and they would struggle to get it out. Donna was stunned and opted to get a second opinion. The second doctor told her the same thing. She then knew that there was no other way around it. She would have to undergo brain surgery... and fast.
Oncoming Stroke
Why was it so urgent to get rid of a benign tumor? Well, the location of the tumor was just under the midline of her brain. If it grew any more it would likely cause her to have a stroke, which could result in death. She was extremely nervous to undergo brain surgery but was far more scared to have a stroke, so the doctors went to work...
Huge Success
The operation went smoothly, and it wasn't long until Donna was out of the hospital, both tumor and arrow-free. It wasn't all flowers and sunshine though. "I had lost a lot of blood from a bacterial infection," Donna would later recall "Clostridium difficile, and was extremely anemic and weak." That wasn't the only secondary effect of the accident...
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
After the incident, Donna developed post-traumatic stress disorder, better known as PTSD. Though it didn't last very long for her, Donna would say that for weeks she was always hearing the "swish and thunk of the arrow" going into her neck. With some time and therapy, Donna was able to move on with her life, but not for long. She returned to the hospital in 2015...
Another Issue
Donna went back for an MRI every year following the accident to make sure her tumor hadn't come back. Well, in 2015 doctors told her that while there was still no sign of a tumor, they had discovered something else. It was a brain aneurysm, which usually is not seen until after rupture (causing death.) She had to go under the knife once again...
The Final Procedure
There was no telling what this time around would bring, but Donna wasn't worried. "In the weeks before the surgery," she recalled, "I felt at peace with whatever the outcome would be." She wasn't worried as she was flown again to the Dallas hospital. The surgeons on duty, however, knew how serious this operation was going to have to be...
Just In Time
The surgeons operated just in time. According to their findings, the aneurysm was covered in blisters, a clear sign that it would not have been long before it ruptured and likely killed Donna. They successfully clipped it and Donna's life was saved. As she puts it "Had it not been for that arrow, I would have died from a brain tumor, a stroke, or an aneurysm!"
Telling Her Story
Donna went on to tell her story to everyone who would listen, even writing a piece for Reader's Digest. Friends and family, even strangers, were inspired by her unbelievable story. No matter what was stacked against her, she persevered. While her story is certainly uplifting, not everyone had the same experience from an unexpected accident...
Meet Ryan Bishop
Ryan Bishop didn't exactly have such an uplifting experience with his story. The Tuscon, Arizona local had been driving his car and enjoying the hot Western weather when his story began. It was about 12:30 PM on a Sunday afternoon, and he was starting to get hungry for lunch. He made a decision to go through a drive-thru restaurant...
Taco Time
Ryan opted for a quick bite at a taco stop, ordering and getting back on the road fairly quickly. In order to keep his taco treat both safe and secure, he rolled up his window, something which is pretty rare in the AZ heat. Still, he wanted to be clean. Little did he know that this taco would be the difference between life and death for Ryan Bishop...
Sudden Spin Out
Bishop was enjoying his taco and driving down Tuscon's Houghton Road, quickly approaching the Pima County Fairgrounds. All of a sudden, the driver’s window of his car shattered. He was confused, thinking that made a rock had flown up from a tire and shattered the glass. However, he heard some gunshots following, and knew something was wrong...
Pulling Over
Ryan decided to pull off to the side of the road and check the damage of his car. While he was inspecting, his heart dropped. "I opened the door, took a look around it, and then I hear this ‘Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! so I got in my car and continued driving," recalled Ryan. He knew he needed to get out of there, but what could have been going on at that fair?
Calling Authorities
Once he was positive that he was a safe distance away, Ryan contacted the local police to inform them of the issue at hand. The Pima County Sheriff’s deputies were on the case shortly after his call, as well as the Tucson police. It was while making the call that Ryan noticed something strange sitting on his dashboard...
A Single Bullet
"I really didn't want to believe it was a bullet," said Ryan, "but the Sheriff's deputies did verify that that's what it was." If the bullet was shot with a little more force, or even a little bit higher, it is likely that Ryan would have died from a shot. He said that his window was usually down, with his arm rested on the ledge. The bullet normally would have hit him...
Taco Saves the Day
"I'm pretty sure the taco saved my life or at least stopped my arm from getting blown apart. I had the window closed because I didn’t want pieces of the taco flying around," said Ryan. If only one small thing had been different, he worries that his life could have been ended right there on the road, and it scared him to think about his mortality...
No Known Suspects
The police investigated, but by the time they arrived, the shooter was gone. Ryan is hopeful that his story changes people. "I hope whoever did this hears this story and thinks ‘Oh my gosh, I could have killed someone!’," he said, "Maybe they will think a little bit harder before they go out into the desert, close to very publicly used roads [to shoot]."
Violence in Numbers
According to Giffords Law Center, over 100,000 Americans are injured by accidental shootings every year. Ryan's story isn't unusual (apart from his life-saving tacos). The center also shows evidence that every day in America, about 100 people on average are killed by guns. This ends up being about 36,000 annually.
Bow and Arrow Stats
Sorry, Donna, but not a lot can be said about how dangerous bow and arrow weaponry is because no one has really studied the subject. Bow and arrows are almost exclusively used in hunting these days, not so much for home invasion protection. Because of this, Donna's survival story is one that is truly unique and inspiring to many...