Pictures of the Year International

The Silent Toll of Gunshot Injuries: The number of deaths only tells part of the story. In the shadows, hundreds of Minnesotans hurt by gunfire struggle to repair their lives. Tyrece Matthews stood up from his wheelchair with the support of bars and his physical therapist during an appointment in October. He's working to get his life back after being shot. WHEN A PERSON IS SHOT, trauma surgeons like Dr. Derek Lumbard and his teammates at HCMC often have about 5 minutes' notice that a patient is coming their way. On one night earlier this year, the group assembled in the building's stabilization room as a patient was hurried in, clinging to life: Nurses checked monitors for the patient's health history. Technicians prepared equipment to look for bleeding inside the body. A towering device stood ready to keep blood warm as it is infused into the body. "It's all very choreographed, and it needs to be that way," Lumbard said. They quickly took X-rays, finding holes in the patient's torso. Surgeons removed the spleen and parts of the colon and the pancreas. They had to scoop out what was left of one kidney. The team churned through 12 coolers of blood products to save a person who Lumbard calculated had an 80% chance of dying. "I can't say I've seen it all because I'm so early in my career, but I've seen so many things that I hadn't expected to see," Lumbard said. https://www.startribune.com/minnesotans-survived-gunshot-injuries-theyre-still-putting-their-lives-back-together-deaths-guns/600329945/