Man regains positive attitude after life-changing incident 20 years ago | News

(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Corey Blevins was just about to graduate from Missouri Western when one night his outlook on life changed forever. While trying to break up a fight during a St. Joseph Veterans of Foreign Wars party in 2004, Blevins was shot, paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.

“As I was walking back about six or seven feet from the door of the VFW hall, I was shot in the back. I mean, I immediately panicked and alarm bells went off (in my head),” Blevins said of the night that changed his life. “It was like tornado sirens in my head and my body and I took two steps forward and one of my close friends, I saw him and told him I was shot.”

Blevins was taken to what was then Heartland Regional Medical Center (now Mosaic Life Care), where he spent five and a half months in intensive care, with doctors unsure of his quality of life after he was released from the hospital. Along with his recovery came mental health issues, as he was now in the care of his father. Since his injury, he has undergone 40 to 45 surgeries related to the 2004 incident.

“(My father) had just retired, and the year before, he went with me to a lot of these appointments, and we would find a way to make it work,” recalls one of his biggest supporters in his time of need. “Luckily, I had two parents, you know, my father was retired and he took me to doctor’s appointments and rehab.”

He made his way back to Kansas City, but he didn’t care about college at all as he was recovering from his injuries and even had to use a feeding tube. Eventually, determination returned to his life when Missouri Western asked him to finish his degree. Blevins eventually learned to drive again and began taking classes as a Griffon, and also at the University of Missouri Kansas City, graduating with a business degree about six years later.

“Imagine, I got my best grades ever, with two Bs and a B-plus. So I thought, that’s pretty cool. That’s never happened to me before,” Blevins said of his journey to getting his life back on track, which he liked.

His positive attitude towards life also returned when he began volunteering at an elementary school and becoming involved in the lives of his nieces, goddaughters and other mentoring relationships.

Around the time he graduated from college, Blevins sought advice from people he shared his heroic story with and began working on a book about his life. He experienced great fear and uncertainty while recovering in the hospital, but now he helps out in his local community and gives talks in the area about the importance of positivity. He was eventually able to live an independent life again.

“If you listen to some of the stories, and it’s just a fraction of them, I couldn’t write about everything I’ve been through,” Blevins said of his book. “It gives people hope, it really is hope, it’s about overcoming and not giving up.”

Blevins’ book is available in paperback or hardcover from Amazon and will be released on Kindle on June 29. To purchase his book, click here.