Ave Maria man thankful to be alive after taking bullet for a family

An Ave Maria man said he’s thankful to be alive this Thanksgiving after taking a bullet to save a mother and her four children from a violent attacker.

Doctors only gave him a 10% chance to survive.

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As little America giggled while placing an ornament on the tree and Kenia gave her a warm smile, Manuel Milanés said he knows he’s got a lot to be thankful for.

“Pensé que no iba a poder celebrar más con mi familia o al menos no lo iba a hacer físicamente,” said Manuel Milanés.

He said he thought he’d never be able to celebrate with his family again, at least not physically.

“A lo mejor lo iba a hacer en otra dimensión,” said Manuel Milanés.

He said that maybe in another dimension, maybe from Heaven.

On Aug. 22, doctors told Milanés he had a 90% chance of dying after a man shot him near his chest as he saved a mother and her four kids.

The guy with the gun was the children’s father, who first crashed his car into the mother’s car and then opened fire.

This all happened outside Milanés’ Ave Maria home.

“Fue muy caótico,” said Milanés. “Era un espacio cerrado dentro de un carro y forcejeando con la pistola y yo sentía sólo los gritos.”

Manuel Milanés said it was chaotic. He remembers the struggle inside the car and the children’s screams. Now, he bears a scar.

“En la operación mi corazón se paró tres veces me pusieron 30 unidades de sangre pero me hicieron dos cirugias,” said Milanés.

He said that doctors did two surgeries, during which his heart stopped three times.

They pumped 13 liters of blood into him, and Milanés said he was never afraid because God gave him signs.

“El paramédico se llamaba lázaro” y la doctora que me recibió se llamaba maría así que como si lázaro me llevó al hospital y maría me recibió, cómo me podía pasar algo,” said Milanés.

Lazarus was the paramedic who rushed Milanés to the hospital. The doctor who greeted him was Mary.

In the Bible, Mary is the name of Jesus’ mother, and Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead four days after his death.

Manuel’s wife, Kenia Milanés, said nothing is impossible with God.

“God’s love, it’s with us, and he has proved it,” said Kenia Milanés. “So, we are just a miracle, a miracle that his presence is with us.”

Manuel Milanés, who came to the U.S. from Cuba, believes he’s been reborn.

“What happened on Aug. 22 is the normal Cuban in me died, and the Cuban-American ironman was born,” said Manuel Milanés.

Because had he been anywhere else, Milanés was convinced he wouldn’t have survived.

“Siento mucha deuda porque así como yo actué con desconocidos, también mucha gente que no me conocía actuó por mí,” said Manuel Milanés.

He feels indebted to all the strangers who helped him, the first responders and the neighbors who prayed.

“I wanted to say what I always heard, but I never said, God bless America. God bless Ave Maria, and thanks for what all of you are doing for me,” said Manuel Milanés.

Manuel Milanés received an appreciation award from the Collier County Sheriff’s Department, Mario Diaz Belart awarded him a congressional record and former President Donald Trump wrote a letter praying for his recovery after his heroic efforts.

Manuel Milanés said he was really excited about that last one.

But despite all this, he said the true hero is Corporal Richard Jacobs, who saved his life. Manuel Milanés sends a big “thank you” to him.