Texas woman recovering after being shot in the face during struggle with suicidal father

ALVIN, Texas -- Brittany Howard and her husband have 2-year-old twin girls and a 4-year-old daughter. Three weeks ago, she came close to never seeing her family again.

"I was shot in the face and survived. Not many people have gone through that and can live to tell about it," Howard said.

Last month, Howard's mother called her and said Howard's father was acting strangely. When she arrived, Howard said, her father had a gun and was threatening to take his own life.

"We both jerked and somehow it went off," she said.

Howard was shot in the face and has since undergone three surgeries.

"It went three centimeters into my frontal lobe, so I have a metal plate in my head," she said.

Three weeks later, she is still healing. She has a skin graft on her nose and has at least three more surgeries in her future. Still, despite it all, she has a remarkable outlook on life.

"I love my dad, and it was an accident," Howard said.

It was an accident that left wounds she said she can heal from, unlike the scars she might have had if she had lost her father.

"He's completely different. He's completely changed and sometimes it takes a tragic accident or a tragic occurrence to change someone's outlook or perspective on life," she said.

According to Howard, her father has been charged with aggravated assault with a weapon of a family member. She said she was upset with the district attorney's office for charging him, insisting the shooting was an accident and he was in a bad place at the time.

She said that since the shooting occurred, her father has changed his perspective on life and has a new outlook. He told her he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

Due to the surgeries, Howard has not been able to work. She has started a Go Fund Me page to help pay for medical expenses.