Parkland survivor leaves hospital, gives interview on national TV
Anthony Borges, the teen credited with shielding 20 classmates during the Parkland school shooting, came home from the hospital this week to face a long recovery from five bullet wounds.
Appearing thin and weak as he lay in bed in the family’s new home, Anthony gave brief responses to an interviewer from NBC’s “Today” show.
“I feel good,” said the 15-year-old, his head resting on a pillow.
Borges was called a hero for his actions at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he used his body to block the door to a classroom full of students as gunman Nikolas Cruz fired shots from an AR-15-type rifle. The Feb. 14 massacre left 17 dead and 17 wounded.
“I think I was going to die,” he said.
Although he survived, he was among the most seriously wounded. Bullets pierced his lung and abdomen and struck him three times in the legs.
At Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, he underwent nine surgeries. He spent time on a respirator. Doctors removed part of his intestine to stop an infection. They removed one-third of a lung.
When asked during the broadcast if he was lucky to be alive, Borges said, “Yes.”
His attorney, Alex Arreaza, has filed notice of intent to sue the Broward County School District for failing to “adequately protect students, and in particular our client, from life-threatening harm.”
Although he was born in the United States, he grew up mainly in Venezuela. His family moved to Florida three years ago from Ciudad Ojeda, which is located in the oil and gas region of Lake Maracaibo in the northwest of the country.
He played soccer at the Barca Academy in Fort Lauderdale, one of many youth programs operated by the powerhouse Futbol Club Barcelona in Spain.
The team sent him a signed jersey. During the NBC broadcast, viewers could see a poster of the soccer team hanging in his window. In tweets about the story, he’s holding a soccer ball in his home.
Anthony has received support from around the world. When word spread of his intestinal infection and return to intensive care, there was an outpouring of support.
During his TV interview, the camera showed boxes of letters from strangers that the teen has received from around the world, many from Venezuela.
Letters called him “ganador” (winner), “luchador” (fighter), and “campeon” (champion).
Some of his friends have nicknamed him after a Marvel superhero: “The Real Iron Man.”