A young mother is beating the odds after surviving a gunshot to her head. The woman, Melody Megginson, now lives with the bullet still lodged inside her brain.
Melody was shot by her baby's father, John Nealy III, who left her for dead. She says they met on the street when he asked her for directions. Melody was already the mother of one child. A relationship quickly developed — too fast, she now says.
Melody became pregnant, and her baby's father moved in with her near the end of the pregnancy. She gave birth to their son just a few days later. But then things took a horrific turn. After a night of drinking, John demanded she get into his truck. He shot her, then dumped her in the driveway of his father's house.
Melody didn't know it when she met her baby's father, but he was actually on house arrest for a capital murder charge. But Melody says he had her convinced he was a savvy businessman by acting professional.
It was only after he moved in with her that his behavior began to change. She says he grew extremely controlling and began putting his hands on her in a violent manner.
Melody began to suspect that he wanted to hurt her. She says alarm bells went off when "out of nowhere" he wanted to go on a date. He asked her to go on a hike with him, and she immediately thought he was planning to shoot her in the woods.
Melody was planning to leave her baby's father when he kidnapped her and shot her in the head. Melody spent two months in a coma before waking up. She says when she woke up, she had no idea that it was her child's father who shot her.
Melody's face is paralyzed on the right side, and she is deaf in that same ear. She has a traumatic brain injury, a plate in her head, and a weight in her eyelid so she can close her eye all the way when she sleeps.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women's shelter (domesticshelters.org).
