Arthur Andrade Sr. can finally breathe a sigh of relief, after doctors said his son, 21-year-old Arthur Andrade Jr., is going to make a full recovery.
Arty was one of the 500 wounded, when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire into a crowd of concertgoers from his Mandalay Bay hotel room Sunday night, before taking his own life.
“It went through his stomach, through the large intestine, and out his side. He was truly blessed,” Arty’s father said.
Andrade said his son was able to share what happened that night.
“As I understand it he moved on his own and he told his buddy that ‘Hey, we gotta get out of here.’ And he fell to the ground and his buddy tried to carry him as far as he could, and then Arthur said they both fell again — and he just said ‘You know, the hell with this’. He told me he just got up and he ran, and somehow just made it to the ambulance.”
While relieved that his son was already safe, he was thankful for the countless people who helped each other during and after the incident.
“It really is amazing. If it sounds wrong that I have a great feeling, and a sad feeling. It really is beautiful, man,” he shared. “It’s nice to see that everybody is selflessly giving and helping in any way they can.”
Andrade acknowledged the help from the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles, the GoFundMe page that has been set up, and for the countless messages of hope and prayer on social media from friends and family.
“People keep asking ‘hey, what do you need?’ I keep telling them I’m good. We got what we need. My son is going to be healthy.”
