On Halloween, 2010, then 16-year-old Tucker Karrh, of Amarillo, Texas, was hunting on his father's ranch. Tucker and his friends were preparing to leave. Tucker was cleaning his .243-caliber Remington Model 770 rifle when he unintentionally discharged the gun.
Tucker was shot at point-blank range along the surface of his face. The bullet took off his nose, destroyed his right eye, the roof of his mouth and many of his teeth, and left shrapnel in his brain. Tucker was in a coma in critical condition for a month. Since the accident he has had 15 surgeries, with more to come. After becoming suicidal, he also spent time in a mental health treatment center.
Today, Tucker is trying to resume a normal life. Commenting on how his life has changed, he joked with a reporter, "I can take off my nose and take out my eye and I've never been able to do anything close to that before."
Tucker works part-time at a local supermarket and will graduate from high school in June. He will attend Amarillo College next year and hopes to become a trauma counselor.
"I look at life in a totally different perspective than I used to," he said. "I have different beliefs about stuff, how you should live your life. You can't really let people or society hold you back from what you want to do."
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