Mille Lacs Messenger, MN
12 January 2004
Shot accidentally by a fellow hunter on Nov. 23 and still
hospitalized, Richard Schwinn, 43, of Wahkon "will never be the same," said
his mother, Helen Schwinn on Friday.
"I didn't think he'd make it this far," she said. "It's
a miracle."
Richard Schwinn was shot by Robert Jordan, 42, of Isle in
a snowstorm less than half an hour after sunset on the last day of deer
season. The two were not hunting together but encountered one another at 5
p.m. in a wooded area in Idun Township northeast of Isle.
Helen Schwinn said her son was returning to his vehicle
when he was shot.
She said the bullet from the high-powered rifle shattered
his pelvic bone and exited his rectal area.
"The damage it did; he lost so much blood," she said.
At the time, Schwinn was wearing a blaze orange jacket and
camouflage pants with blaze orange ribbons, according to the Aitkin County
Sheriff's Office.
Jordan was charged with felony reckless discharge of a
weapon.
Helen Schwinn said 12 days passed before her son regained
consciousness and acknowledged her presence at his bedside at St. Cloud
Hospital. He is now in the rehabilitation unit there and able to get around
with a walker. To ward off serious infection, his wounds have required
surgical cleaning three times a week.
Helen said Richard is eager to come home but it may be a
month yet before he can leave. He may need to go somewhere like a nursing
home where he can receive 24-hour care, she said.
"We're hopeful for some sort of recovery. We won't know
what that will be for a while yet," she said.
