Some thoughts from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author of On Combat, relative to surviving gunshot wounds.
• Don’t panic!
• The fact that you are alive to know you are shot is good!
• A mission, a goal can keep you going.
• You can train yourself, condition yourself, to keep going.
• Visualize yourself getting hit and continuing the fight.
• Tap the power of adrenaline!
• An officer once shot a suspect with a .45 five times before the suspect dropped. Later, that officer was shot and remembering this, said to himself, “Get up! Get up! If he can do it, I can too!”
• Expect:
- Dry mouth, sweaty palms, pounding heart.
- Tissue wounds may not hurt.
- Bone hits hurt: but no one dies of broken bones!
- Blood loss: Body has approximately 1.5 gallons of blood. You can lose 40% without losing consciousness!
• Develop NOW the will, the resolve to live.
• Keep going until after medical help arrives. Afterwards: anxiety, anger, flashbacks, nightmares are normal.
• Remember your breathing to control anxiety.