Surgeon Refused To Give Up On Dying Med Student, Inspires Him To Return To Hospital That Saved Him.

In July 2007, Kevin Morton was like any other pre-med college student. The hardworking 22-year-old balanced a full class schedule while working 48 hours a week at a Detroit area Arby’s. After finishing a shift late one night and dismissing his employees, Morton walked out to the parking lot alone and got in his car. While backing out of his parking spot he noticed a shadowy figure walking up behind him. In that moment, a gunshot rang out.

Morton had been shot in the stomach and his attacker robbed him before running into the night. Knowing that he was fading fast, Morton decided to drive to a police station a few miles away for emergency care. Minutes down the road, he lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital with doctors frantically trying to save his life.

“All I could think about was my younger sisters,” said Morton, now 31. “It’s funny, but that’s the only thought I had. I kept thinking, ‘I have to stay alive for them.’ ”

The surgeon on call that night, Dr. Dhari Sheth, knew that Mortan only had a 10% chance of survival, but she worked through the night to stabilize the young man who was fighting to live.

“She went the extra mile to save my life, even when the vascular surgeon said (my case) was futile,” Morton said.

Morton survived the night, but a long and difficult road lay ahead of him. While in the ICU, Morton dropped from a healthy 160 pounds to a skeletal 107. because of the injury to his stomach, he had to be fed through an IV weeks after he was discharged from the hospital.

Morton credits Sheth’s initial and continued care for giving him the motivation to continue with medical school after his ordeal. Sheth took time to visit Morton long after he was discharged and remains a close friend to this day.

Morton graduated from Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2016.

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Morton has since moved back to his hometown of Warren, Michigan, with his wife and young daughter. He began his medical residency this fall in the very hospital where he nearly lost his life.

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He makes a point not to dwell on the past, but to focus on the bright future ahead of him. We could all learn from Kevin Morton and his incredible journey.

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