Paralyzed Upper Darby bartender shares story of recovery following shooting

DREXEL HILL, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Dominique "Dom" Travis-Bey is sharing his story of recovery after being shot three times on March 21.

Travis-Bey said he was just returning to his Upper Darby home after completing his shift as a bartender and hanging out with friends in Drexel Hill.

The home, located on Greenwood Avenue, was inherited by his mother. He was working to fix up the home using a generator for power. Someone entered his home through the back.

"All I remember hearing is three gunshots and I blacked out. I was shot from the back. I never saw who shot me. The next thing I remember was waking up three and a half, four hours later on my dining room floor. I had to crawl further to the front door to call for help," recalled Travis-Bey.

He was shot three times in the back.

Travis-Bey would have parts of his kidney, intestines and colon removed, and there are still bullet fragments left near his spine.

Partially paralyzed from the waist down, doctors told Travis-Bey it was a slim chance he would ever walk again.

But he's determined.

"It's all been a test. It's not like I don't have the moments of 'why did this happen to me,' you know, 'what did I do to make something like this to happen to me,'" said Travis-Bey. "I look outside now and see people walking and I'm like, wow, and I'm like not too many people realize what a blessing it is."

Today, he's re-learning simple things like how to get dressed on his own.

"Self-care skills, things you wouldn't have thought about beforehand, prior to this injury. It's relearning and retraining your body," said Stefani Samuels, an occupational therapist at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

Samuels says she's worked with countless gunshot victims.

Stories like Travis-Bey's are the brutal reality of the aftermath of crime and gun violence. It's something he never thought would impact him.

"I was never really opinionated about gun violence or drug use, or that kind of very focused on myself. After this, I was kind of forced to really think about what has happened in our city and in our community," said Travis-Bey.

Right now he doesn't have a plan for what he wants to do, but says he's eager to get to work.

"It's something that's got to stop, especially in the City of Brotherly Love," said Travis-Bey. "I'm eager to get into the community and advocate for what situations like mine are and for countless other people in this city. I mean there are children out here getting hurt."

Travis-Bey says he's thankful for his community and friends. More than $30,000 was raised on a GoFundMe to help with medical costs.

Upper Darby police continue to investigate this case. There have been no arrests.

Anyone with information is asked to call Upper Darby police detectives at 484-574-1157.