About

Jim Ledgewood will be the first to admit he is fortunate to be alive. In January 2006, while enjoying a night out with friends at a local bar, a hollow-point bullet, fired by a man shooting at random in Glendale, struck him in the face. The bullet exploded upon entry, severing a facial nerve and destroying his inner eardrum. The bullet then traveled to the back of his head, where it nicked his carotid artery, causing bleeding around his brain. The bullet also damaged Jim’s frontal and temporal lobe.

Despite the trauma, Jim was back at his work desk three months after the violent attack.

Throughout his journey as a survivor of brain injury, Jim was looking to connect with others who had been through a similar experience. There was just one problem: Jim was practically a medical anomaly. 90 percent of people shot in the head die, often before they are even brought to the hospital. Of those who do make it to the emergency room, roughly half of them die there. Of those fortunate enough to survive a gunshot wound to the head, 50 percent will suffer post-traumatic seizures for the rest of their lives. Many will become severely disabled, both physically and cognitively.