SHOT BOY'S MIRACLE RECOVERY
One year on from shooting, Cameron, 6, is all smiles
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HE HAS SPOKEN TO ME ABOUT IT. HE DOESN’T REALLY WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT.
A YEAR ago, little Cameron Calvisi was a millimetre from death after being accidentally shot in the face by his cousin in a shocking backyard accident.
Today, six-year-old Cameron is all smiles and his father Robert says the pair is ready to make 2019 their best year yet.
After finishing his last specialist appointment in Brisbane, Cameron, from Cottonvale, near Stanthorpe, will start Year 1 in two weeks.
Robert says the pair was hoping to forget about what was very nearly one of 2018’s most tragic accidents.
“Everything’s been going good for Cameron.
“He hasn’t complained or anything, he just wants to move on,” Robert said.
“He has spoken to me about it. He doesn’t really want to think about it. He just wants to go back to school.”
Cameron and his older cousins, aged seven and 12, were playing in their grandfather’s farm shed on the family’s apple orchard when the 12-year-old found a .22 rifle in the back of a ute.
The 12-year-old fired a shot from only a few metres away, not knowing the gun was loaded.
The bullet hit Cameron in the face, just below his rightside cheek, and became lodged in his neck, just one millimetre from his spine.
Blood pouring from his face and in shock, Cameron stumbled 20 metres into the family home, as a severe afternoon storm raged around him.
He approached his father and said “Daddy, I’ve been shot”, before he was rushed to hospital.
After multiple attempts, the bullet was finally removed days later, but Robert was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.
Cameron’s grandfather, Antonio Calvisi, was also charged with failing to secure a weapon.
The pair eventually pleaded guilty.
“I think (Cameron’s) just relieved I didn’t go to jail, because that’s where I was going – two years and six months is a long time,” Robert said.
This year could see the family relocate, as Robert looks to pick up a new job and move on with his life.
Robert has no doubt that he and Cameron will take the lessons of 2018 with them, wherever they end up.
“I don’t think Cameron will touch guns,” Robert said.
“He’ll be too focused on school and getting a job as he gets older.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”