He doesn't remember how it happened, but more than two years ago Paul Baldwin was found in a 3rd floor apartment at the Rogers Garden complex in Trenton with a gunshot wound to the head.
"The bullet, it went through this eye and it crossed over, hit the front of my brain, got stuck on my skull," said Paul.
Paul, now 23, had to have his left eye removed, he has a plate in his head to replace part of his damaged skull and, after two brain surgeries, he spent months at a local rehabilitation center relearning the most basic tasks.
"I had to learn to walk, I had to learn how to chew, how to eat," Paul said.
After first resisting therapy, Paul embraced it and wound up encouraging other patients. He now wants to be a motivational speaker.
"I would love to tell people what I went through and if I did it, I know you could do whatever you want to do. You've just got to put your mind to it, have faith and believe that you're going to do it," he said.
Paul says this experience has changed him. He's no longer the hot-shot high school dropout he was before the shooting.
"Before I used to think everything was fun and games," he said. "I'm more mature."
Police have never made an arrest in Paul Baldwin's shooting. He's unable to work because of his injuries but still wants to make a difference.
"I want to be there for others," he said, the same was his family has been there for him.
He and his girlfriend are due to have a baby girl in March. They've decided in honor of his amazing recovery they're going to call her "Miracle."
