Excited about going to practice the day before the annual game its a great tradition that was Just Announced to be the second base star. You get up there early in the morning and its lighthearted and then you just go through the motions of getting ready for the big game then a shot goes out. Because my would be somebody should be on a baseball field . By the time we figured out what was going on i got hit and went down. Did you know you were hit quick. I did because my legs gave out. I didnt instantly feel that i was hit but something hit me i didnt know that it was a bullet but then i was down in the gravel in the infield i started crawling away i heard it coming from the thirdbase line i never saw the shooter but i heard thats where it was coming from so i started to crawl away then after about 20 feet ic pictures of my blood trail my arms gave out i could not crawl anymore than at that point i started to pray to god for many things. Teeseven how long were you out there quick. It seemed like an hour but it was just a few minutes from the Police Report maybe it took in a 15 or 20 minute period until the shooter was taken down but there was a loud moan a lot of gunfire almost 100 rounds between the shooter starting with david bailey who was my lead detail officer for Capitol Police engage the shooter then also on my crystal started to engage the shooter they engage on a shoot out and they stepped kept going at it thats what saved so many of us that they could just not pick us off as sitting ducks to engaged in a gun fire with david and crystal and ultimately other virginia Law Enforcement showed up and took him down. In your book you reconstruct minute by minute what is going on but you are laying there on the field i used a conscious . I was i could hear everything that was going on. In fact i was hearing the shots for all i knew it could be me again and i could be dead. So i was praying the first thing that came to my mind is that i have a young daughter i had a vision of her walking down the aisle alone i said please dont let her go down the aisle alone and that emotion overtook me but then i prayed to see family again and ultimately i did play that david and crystal could carry out their duties properly and they were. So at that point he gave a calm over me. I had incredibly Severe Damage internally i did not realize i was losing all my blood i had zero Blood Pressure and i was told very few people make it through that but i remember including when the shooter went down also a combat surgeon who was dealing with the injuries on the battlefield so fortunately he was there because he knew exactly what to do. He went to see if there was an exit wound and there wasnt so that he knew that was a bad thing instead of it going jess straight through it had broken apart and shred through my organs causing all kinds of internal damage so he knew he needed to stop the bleeding that literally allow me to live long enough to make it to the hospital. Your femur explodes your pelvis explodes severing veins slicing open organs shredding intestines to destroy the digestive track making everything great at once a full foundation of your body employment. You just read the emotions because i didnt know it at the time i found out thats what happened i didnt know my left femur was shattered i just knew my leg gave out when i woke up three days later out of a coma thats when they started to tell me what had went on inside of me and i almost didnt make it multiple times or through the night but i had a lot of prayers and great surgeons and things that worked in my favor. Whats the last memory you have of that day quick. I vividly remember my colleagues coming around me asking what they could do to help. I was so thirsty i had a gatorade in my bag in the dugout. I was one tenth of it but it gave me enough energy to keep going but once i got on the helicopter it seems like it was taking forever i remember thinking at one point i dont care where you take me just take me somewhere i dont want to bleed out on the ball field. Then i asked one of the paramedics on the helicopter for a phone so i can call my wife. At that point i felt like things were fading away and i wanted to share some final words with her it was a virginia phone so she didnt answer it was 6 00 a. M. In new orleans. But i left a voicemail and she has kept and hasnt shared it with anybody it was emotional when you tell a loved one. Have you listen to it quick. I did. Its tough but its tough to focus on the negative when i know what its like almost not making it for all the things that i love doing and those people that were in my situation made it out. Im lucky to be alive. And you were flown up here to medstar hospital. I had never heard of it but initially they would take me to George Washington its closer but they dont have a helipad at 730 in the morning with rushhour traffic you can only get there by ambulance they started then they realize i would not make it to the hospital in the ambulance so then a twist of fortune they said turn back and see if thats for him sure enough they landed on the ball field they loaded me up and four minutes later i was in the emergency room my doctor said maybe i had another minute it was may be that close but luckily they could take care of me. The subtitle is countless heroes you talk about a woman named susan kennedy. Shes a special person i came in contact with so many angels people that did so many things to help. Not just for me but for my wife because shes in new orleans with the kids and shes not going to expect at 630 in the morning to say your husbands been shot on a ballfield but thats what happened. It is these mixed feelings shes not thinking this is real or lifethreatening or its a flesh wound than the surgeon gets on the phone and says you have to get here as soon as you can. She was able to get a flight and take the kids to dc but she didnt know what to tell eight to tell the kids she didnt know what happened and didnt want to alarm them but ultimately some friends help take care of the kids and then she really helped to coordinate to make sure family and friends that had come up would have a place to wait and see what happened. Susan kennedy also took on the security that came with you. When i showed up i had security detail but at that point nobody knew if this was a terrorist attack or plot or mass shooting you see Capital Police presence all around and they shut things down so when we went to the hospital with Law Enforcement nobody really knew that this was happening if this was a larger attack and then President Trump and milania visited me that same evening and then secret service than the next thing you know she said you have to get out we have a hospital we are running and we are taking care of people and you are getting in the way. We worked out she did a good job to make sure they could do their job but doctors and nurses could do theirs as well. Your wife in new orleans got a call from the president. Yes she did. He called to say he was praying for me and for her and offered sympathy of course that later that night showed up at the hospital to help console her along with milania. I have no memory of that i was unconscious for a few days it wasnt until saturday that i woke up and came out of the coma i did remember there was a shooting i didnt know how bad i was i could hear the shoot out i wasnt sure about david or crystal i knew they had engaged him i heard somebody may have been hit but i wasnt sure so i asked how they were doing crystal was actually at the same hospital as me so we visited a few times as we were recovering. 40 round banana clip 9 millimeters extra clips 40 more rounds for the rifle and extra magazines for the smith wesson you write these bullets entered your body at 2000 meters per second. Pretty powerful left in obviously the 62 cal or bowl caliber bullet that hit me to take a bear down with that when i saw the size of the bullet later they showed me i said how am i alive clicks allied of miracles that day and thats one that i detail in the book matter your faith i have a strong faith and help to get me through it but i chronicle very specific things on the ball field maybe you think the first one or two is a coincidence but then clearly there was a larger presence on that ballfield congressman when strip usually did not stay until the end of practice. Usually has a meeting at 8 00 oclock eagerly leaves before seven to shower and get ready to go to the office that morning he found out his meeting was canceled so he decided to stay for extra batting practice. He was in the batting cage which was on the first baseline the shooter was behind the thirdbase dugout and was out of the line of fire but could see everything that was happening. So his skills took over he knew as soon as the shooter went down he had to check on me to see if he could do something to help me perk i would not be here if he was not there that day but most days he would not have been there because his schedule and of taking them somewhere else. One of the many miracles. Page 213 you use the shooters name. Why is that quick. I struggled with that. I knew to tell the story properly and when to tell it to the eyes that saved me we dont see enough of reallife heroes and the good thing we know but what we rarely focus on because i knew i had to mention the shooter to give his background as well so ultimately i did i still struggle a little bit with forgiveness as a catholic i do believe in forgiveness im not quite there but there are some good people helping me with that as well. But i did feel it was appropriate to mention him and i just wanted to tell the background of the positive things because to get better i needed to focus on the positive and that helped me to stay focus every day to have my energy on recovery i needed to learn how to walk again or even just some basic skills we take for granted that i needed to start over with and was able to with the strength from so many positive influences that got me through it so i just focus on the positive. You mention routine and control are very important to you. Everybody has things that they do at my job as a member of congress its a great job you are scheduled every 15 minutes for what has to happen next and then a vote and then you come back and meet with people and then go to different events. Its a treadmill now all of a sudden im in a hospital room and its gone and you wonder if you can walk perk i had tubes coming out of me perk i didnt know if my legs would move again i could not lift my arms even the doctors were sure the extent of the nerve damage and it just becomes irrelevant i just want to see my wife and kids again and i was able to and that was all that mattered at that point it does refocus you have the things you do every day and then what you might want to do and then you realize whats important. We want to show you video from september 2017. Tell us what we are watching. One of the most special moments of my life. I wanted to come back to work. I didnt know if i was able to grip the cognitive skills would be there and if you come back you cant come back at 50 percent so either you are back or not once i realized i could come back to work just to walk on to the house floor and to see the emotion of my colleagues in republican and democrat and everybody cheering. You battle over ideas every day but theres just so much strong relationships to see the love that people had that i could walk back onto the house floor on my own was incredibly specia special. One of the characters in your book was a friend of yours named frederick. Keys right behind me. My colleague from new orleans, a dear friend different parties. But we got to know each other from the state house of representatives that friendship is genuine and has maintained through all the turmoils and differences of opinion. Theres jennifer. My surgeon, so many of the special people that help to get me back but he was the first person to show up at the hospital. He was at the democrats practice and heard what had happened and knew before my staff and went straight there. And he helped jennifer which he flew up from new orleans. Politics can be rough and tumble that life is much more important its if you build genuine friendships that can be done it might be rare but it shows that people can come together so many people that reached out and prayed and even Benjamin Netanyahu even though World Leaders that have called they may not know me personally but they know it congress represents. And why its so special in this country that after all the disagreements ultimately we love whats great about this country and its institution and im glad i was able to share that special moment with everybody else and to show people what so special that i got to see the good in people instead of just one act of evil i could see people all around and i think we need to see more of that in this country and in this world. One year later another piece of video june 2018. Youre at the congressional baseball game out at first. The entire infield goes over to congratulate him and give him a big hug. To get the ground ball to throw it out. What a moment. Look at the emotions of everybody. That democrats from california just to show how special this is he gets the very first pitch im playing second base i could hardly move but they put me out there as a nice gesture to start the game and take me out when the real game starts and then he hits it to the opposite field and write to me i cannot move more than a foot either way but somehow it brings me down to my knee that i knew at that point i have to make this play. So somehow i got the ball to first base and everybody just came towards me. If you dont believe in god how does a moment like that happen clicks i see everybody coming and we all started to tear up perk i was shot that david everybody else was shot at and everybody had different emotions. It was such a relief to say one year after we will not let evil triumph and we will play the game and to have a moment like that and share it with everybody else i appreciated what he did because its not about a game that the camaraderie and how we come together. Where are you in your recovery . Have you changed any policy positions on gun or medical care because of this experience quick. It hasnt changed but has fortified to make sure you are focused on the things that really do matter clearly want to make sure we have a worldclass Health System for the opportunity that i had for a beacon for healthcare and so many other things that are important i still use a crutch to walk i started with a scooter because i couldnt even walk on crutches now im down to one and my goal for this year is to walk without crutches i do have permanent damage in my left foot that damage has not come back and likely wont i wont be sitting any worldclass records but i can still move around im doing physical therapy a few times a week and that helps a lot i have a wonderful occupational therapist i push them like they push mean you have to keep focused on Getting Better every day. Mister have a lot of people praying for me because it does give me the strength to get better and then i can walk again without crutches may be run a five or ten k but im just lucky to be alive. Both are back on the Capital Police force david is a team lead and wide a special both of them are crystal is back with Capital Police working as another capacity just to see her in uniform again that bond from that day will never weaken but looking back it something positive from the bad that happened but we also had good things that happened and we need to focus more on those good things to give us the strength to keep Getting Better. Republican scalise is author of back in the game. Thank you for joining us on book tv. Thank you for having me good evening. How are all of you tonight . Happy new year. Thank you for being here