Gabe Heefner Go Fund Me

Lance Corporal, GABE HEEFNER, 20 year old young man who joined the Marines and trained to be a Transmission Systems Operator (0621). He was the number one student out of his class of 45 students, and was recently meritoriously promoted to Lance Corporal. Gabe attended Kirkwood High School, in Kirkwood, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis), and graduated in 2020.

 

 

On Sunday evening, Oct. 17th, Gabe, the son of Nile & Codi Heefner, who reside in St. Louis, Missouri, was shot in the head while driving back to his grandparent’s home (around 6pm). Gabe was home on leave from the Marines, and was in Iowa City visiting his grandparents and friends that attend the University of Iowa. Gabe’s parents received a call from the police, around 6:45pm, telling them they were with him and that he had been in a car accident. They found out more details once Gabe’s grandparents got to the hospital, and it was reported that his car had veered across the median on Highway 6 and came to a stop in the ditch, because he was shot in the head. At that time, he was able to tell first responders his name and speak in complete sentences, though his sentences weren’t making sense. He was able to respond to commands on his right side. Things when downhill later that evening, and doctors ended up having to remove part of the left side of his skull to allow for the swelling in his brain. Praise God they did that because it helped his pressure levels go back to normal when they had been doubled previously. The doctors informed Gabe’s parents that they will not be able to remove the bullet from his head. The left side of his body (though he can move his arm and leg on that side when prodded and given pain stimuli) has been a problem this whole time, due to the location of the bullet that is still lodged in the middle of his brain, so regaining movement on his left side is a huge prayer request. They say it is incredible that he survived, and he could talk and respond upon entrance to the trauma center. Now it is just a waiting game to see how he responds once he regains full consciousness.