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A man who survived the mass shooting at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston was released from the hospital Wednesday.
Kyle Secor was shot at least five times.
“It’s been tough,” Secor said.
Five nights before the mass shootings, Secor was playing cornhole at Schemengees with the gunman.
“Seemed like a normal one of us everyday guys,” Secor said. “I was shot through my right leg into my left leg, which blew up my tibia. And then I was shot four times … one went through my femoral artery. One went through my bladder. One went through my hand. And then one went through my upper left leg.”
Seconds after the shooting, Secor texted his wife.
With Central Maine Medical Center in lockdown, he’d gone through two surgeries before she could even see him.
“It was very scary just seeing him the way that he was. I was very worried,” his wife, Taylor Secor, said. “Just pretty much about his wounds and what they took care of that day. And we weren’t sure about if his leg was going to, if they were going to keep his leg or not.”
The bullet shattered bones and destroyed the major vein in his left leg.
“I’m still full of a bunch of shrapnel because they weren’t able to get all of it out because of how explosive they were,” Kyle Secor said. “They repaired my femoral artery, but weren’t able to repair the vein. So they had to tie it off. They said the other veins will expand themselves and slowly return the blood.”
Secor spent — as he put it — six long weeks in the hospital undergoing several surgeries as he went from critical to stable condition. On Wednesday afternoon, hospital staff, including many of his doctors and nurses, lined the hall to wish him well as he left to return home to his wife and children.
“It was emotional. Very, very emotional. Like I mean, those people have been there for the six weeks I’ve been. And, I mean, I made a family,” Secor said. “The nursing staff and the doctors have been absolutely amazing. I couldn’t be more thankful for what they’ve done.”
Secor is a former player and volunteer coach for the Maine Nordiques. He’s been overwhelmed by the response from the team and even strangers.
“The amount of support I had, and people fighting for me, I knew I was going to come out of this,” Secor said. “Will my life ever be the same? Maybe. I’ll have pain the rest of my life, so [I’ll] fight through it.”
Secor has lost more than 40 pounds since the shooting.
He will undergo a 14th surgery in January to repair more damage to his leg.
