A mom-of-two has opened up about her 'luck' after her decision to wear crocs saved her from amputation when she accidentally shot herself in the foot.
On March 31 last year, Marissa Jones was at a friend's house in San Antonio, Texas, when she spotted they had a 'gun out by their bedroom door'.
The 26-year-old nurse and mom-of-two decided to put the firearm underneath her friend's bed so it would be hidden from her one-year-old daughter Ava.
However, as she began hitting it under with her foot, she didn't see it hit the frame of the bed, causing it to release and shooting into her foot.
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She explained: "Under the bed there's a pole to stand the bed" up and I guess the back of the gun hit that and it just went off. It happened so fast."
Marissa says the gun shot her 'in the right foot' and she immediately leapt on the bed in pain.
Hit with a reported 40 pellets, Marissa credits her Crocs shoes as to why her foot wasn't lost completely.
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"I was wearing my Crocs and the pellets actually went through my Crocs - my Croc saved my foot," she said. "If I'd been barefoot everything would've been shattered. I would've lost my foot, it was a complete freak accident."
Marissa was rushed to University Hospital where she remained for 10 days.
Doctors were able to retrieve 20 of the 40 pellets from her foot and Marissa is set to undergo a skin graft to help heal the wound left on her foot as a result of the operation.
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She still relies on crutches and a wheelchair, however, the mom notes she's just 'grateful' it didn't end in the 'worst-case scenario' she keeps having flashbacks to in her head.
The mom 'pray[s]' she'll 'eventually' be able to 'walk on' her foot agin, but overall feels 'so lucky' she was 'wearing [her] Crocs'.
"I thank the brand so much. I feel so grateful I was wearing them that day," she continued. "I will continue to buy every single pair I lay my eyes on. I always wore my Crocs before this, I'm a Croc-wearing girl."
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Marissa noted her friends feel 'really bad' about what happened and she now wants to learn more about 'gun safety'.
Even more importantly, she resolved: "I feel lucky it wasn't my hand or face or even my daughter."
Poppy Bilderbeck