Support, gratitude pour in over shooting victim's story

Norris' ordeal helps others find the will to keep fighting

Wade Spees

Doc Norris and his wife, Judy, talk last week about his recovery as they sit in the living room of their Georgetown home, where he was shot in a robbery attempt four years ago. Norris has had numerous facial reconstruction surgeries. Because of that and treatment for cancer in his throat, he has to eat through a feeding tube. He goes through a large box of facial tissues most days because of his inability to swallow.

GEORGETOWN — Four years ago, a catastrophic injury from a close-range rifle blast forced Doc Norris and his family down a torturous road of surgery, financial struggle and a test of faith.

A petty thief shot Norris on May 12, 2003, as Norris arrived home for lunch and confronted the stranger in his living room. The bullet tore away the lower half of Norris' face. He died twice as paramedics and doctors in Georgetown and at the Medical University of South Carolina worked to save him.

Norris still faces a daunting recovery after bone cancer sidetracked surgeons' efforts to reconstruct his mouth and jaw. But Norris said an outpouring of wishes and prayers his family received after The Post and Courier chronicled the shooting and painful recovery encouraged him to keep fighting. The four-day series, "A Violent Encounter," ran Dec. 3-6, 2006.

"I never thought people would respond like that," Norris said as his wife, Judy Norris, sorted through a stack of cards and letters. "When you get letters like that, it boosts you up a little bit."

Some wrote Norris to say his story inspired them to stand up against their own challenges. Others said that Norris' willingness to forgive his shooter, Franklin Lee McGirt, demonstrated a rare humanity. A few shared accounts of their own battles with cancer. "There was one man who said he had cancer and had been feeling sorry for himself," Norris recalled. "He said I made him realize life is worth living."

Many of the cards also came with donations. A bank account established to help the family pay Norris' mounting medical bills grew to more than $4,000 with donations from across the Lowcountry.

Judy Norris said her husband's health remains fragile, but his overall outlook has improved dramatically since last year, when she and other family members wondered if he would live to see Christmas.

Today, Norris eats through a feeding tube. He subsists on seven vanilla-flavored nutrition shakes a day. The steady diet has restored some of his strength as he pushes through the final rounds of chemotherapy.

If the treatments sideline the cancer, MUSC doctors will consider finishing the facial and dental reconstruction.

A recent insurance victory also has given the family hope. After two years of battling Medicare over its refusal to pay for dental implants to replace the teeth that were blown away, a judge recently ruled that Norris needed the $5,000 procedure to recover the basic ability to eat.

Dr. Betsy Davis, director of MUSC's maxillofacial prosthodontic clinic, said she willingly stepped outside her clinical duties to help the Norris family navigate the frustrating appeals process.

"What happened to him was a horrible thing," she said. "It should make all of us appreciate the simple pleasures we take for granted."

Reach Ron Menchaca at rmenchaca@postandcourier.com or 937-5724.