Man saved from death by gold cross necklace
“I thought I was going to die, honestly."
A Florida man’s faith and a gold cross necklace may have been the reason he survived a gunshot wound at point-blank range.
On June 7, 20-year-old Aiden Perry was visiting a friend when a firearm accidentally discharged, striking Perry in the chest with a .40-caliber round.
What happened next was nothing short of miraculous.
According to one of the trauma surgeons who treated Perry, he wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the cross necklace he was wearing at the time.
“He’s extremely lucky,” Dr. Khafra Garcia Henry told Fox 35 Orlando. “A very fortunate young individual because if his chain was not there, the outcome would have been completely different.”
“I thought I was going to die, honestly,” Perry told interviewers of being rushed to the hospital, covered in blood after the accident. But his faith, along with his cross necklace, proved to be his shield.
Surgeons soon realized that the bullet had hit the cross pendant on Perry’s necklace, splitting it in two. The bullet entered Perry's left upper chest, missing vital organs and instead traveling toward his left arm, eventually exiting near his armpit and re-entering inside his arm, where it fractured his humerus.
Doctors say the cross necklace acted as a protective barrier, preventing the bullet from entering his chest wall and causing life-threatening damage. “When we normally see these injuries, they’re usually devastating,” Dr. Henry explained. “In Aiden’s case, he was fortunate enough that the bullet did not enter his chest wall — it ricocheted off the chain he was wearing.”
"It’s just kind of a reminder now – to never stop believing… keep believing and God’s definitely real," Aiden said.
Before the incident, Perry had considered himself religious, but this life-changing experience has only strengthened his faith. He now feels an even deeper connection to God and grateful for the second chance he’s been given.
It truly is extraordinary what a difference one moment can make – or one simple cross. While Perry’s physical gold cross stopped a bullet from taking his life, the Cross of Christ has redeemed us all from sin.
We are not always guaranteed a miraculous second chance at life, like Perry. Call on the Lord today and be ready when He calls you home.