I SURVIVED: I Had Blood Shooting Out Both Sides of Me

Summary

Cold Case Files – "I SURVIVED: I Had Blood Shooting Out Both Sides of Me"

Podcast: Cold Case Files – I Survived Series (A&E / PodcastOne)
Host: Paula Barros
Air Date: August 23, 2025

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Episode Overview

This harrowing episode features firsthand accounts from three survivors—Harold, John, and Lisa—each recounting their stories of unimaginable trauma and extraordinary resilience in the face of violence, accident, and abuse. The episode amplifies survivor voices, delving into the mental and physical endurance required to survive against all odds. The stories span a deadly grocery store robbery, a catastrophic farming accident, and the escape from a notorious serial rapist and killer.

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Key Discussion Points & Survivor Narratives

1. Surviving a Mass Shooting During a Robbery – Harold's Story (St. Louis, 1987)

[02:31–13:12]

• Background:
  Harold was managing a grocery store that became the scene of a brutal armed robbery involving two gunmen.
• Robbery Unfolds:
  • The perpetrators took over the store after close, armed and aggressive, and herded staff into the back—a sign to Harold that the situation was abnormal and extremely dangerous.
  • “There was no rush of adrenaline. It was strictly fear.” – Harold ([02:25])
• Moments of Terror:
  • Staff members were ordered onto the floor; both gunmen opened fire indiscriminately.
  • Several staff were killed instantly; Harold feigned death after being shot in the chest and head.
  • He describes lying next to his co-worker Rose as she was killed: “My face was right next to Rose's and I heard her go and… that was it for Rose. She never moved… nothing.” – Harold ([07:28])
  • One of the most chilling moments occurs when the gunmen attempt to reload and execute more staff: “Pulled the trigger. And it clicked... Pulled the trigger the second time, it clicked again... Pulled the trigger the third time, the gun went off, and he shot Mike... right in the head.” – Harold ([08:13])
• Struggle for Survival:
  • Severely wounded, Harold crawled to a phone and made a desperate whisper-call to 911.
  • Called his wife, unsure he would survive: “I told her to give the girls a kiss for me. I was bleeding so bad at that point I really didn’t think I was going to make it.” – Harold ([11:13])
• Aftermath:
  • Five of the six staff shot died. The gunmen were arrested and convicted of murder.
  • The bullet remains lodged near Harold’s heart: “The bullet… is lodged right here on my artery right above my heart.” – Harold ([12:12])
  • Survivor’s reflection: “I survived because I wasn’t paralyzed by the fear. I was trying very hard to stay alive, and that was my driving force.” – Harold ([13:04])

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2. Horrific Farm Accident – John's Story (Minot, North Dakota, 1992)

[15:09–25:12]

• Background:
  John, 18, describes the isolation of rural farm life. He was alone one day, operating heavy farming equipment.
• The Accident:
  • His shirt was caught in a fast-spinning power takeoff shaft, pulling in both arms and severing them.
  • “I just had blood shooting out both sides of me and then I knew that I had no arms at all.” – John ([17:53])
• Incredible Calm and Problem-Solving:
  • Regained consciousness, calmed himself by focusing on his loyal dog, Tuffy, who “just said, we're going to get to the house.” ([17:23])
  • Managed to open the house door by biting the doorknob, dialed the phone using a pencil in his teeth, and called his cousin for help ([17:53–18:38]).
  • Went to sit in the bathtub to help control blood loss until help arrived.
• Rescue & Medical Ordeal:
  • Paramedics retrieved his arms (with help from Tuffy) and took him to hospital, where he bled out to the point where “there was no medical reason I should be alive.” ([22:36])
  • After a grueling eight-hour surgery, both arms were successfully reattached.
  • Defied odds during recovery: “They wanted to take the one arm off because it was dead… and I said, ‘No, you’re leaving it on there.’ And miraculously, it just started turning pink…” – John ([24:08])
• Lessons and Tribute:
  • Regained substantial function through perseverance: “My Dr. Van Beek is really amazed with what I can do. I owe it all to him and a lot to my own stubbornness.” – John ([24:49])
  • Deep gratitude for his dog: “The one main reason I survived was because of my dog Tuffy, because he's the one that woke me up...” – John ([25:12])

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3. Surviving a Serial Rapist – Lisa’s Story (Tampa, Florida, 1984)

[26:48–37:49]

• Background:
  Lisa grew up enduring severe abuse. The night she tried to end her life, she was abducted and raped by a stranger—later revealed as serial killer Robert Joe Long.
• The Abduction and Attack:
  • She was kidnapped at gunpoint after work and driven blindfolded to an unknown house.
  • “I stood there shaking. I had no clothes on, and I could just feel a gun pointing at my back.” – Lisa ([28:51])
  • Subjected to repeated sexual assault and psychological torment; Lisa used her senses to gather identifying details about her attacker (feel of his face, the car’s nameplate, etc.).
• Survival Through Ingenuity:
  • Carefully left fingerprints throughout the house to aid future investigations.
  • Used psychological tactics—treating her captor “almost like playing out a romantic relationship”—to increase her chanced of survival, feigning empathy and interest to humanize herself ([30:12–33:21]).
  • When asked what to do with her, Lisa told him, “I am willing to be your girlfriend. I'll do whatever it takes. I won't tell anybody what happened...You seem like a nice person.” ([34:13])
• Release and Rescue:
  • The attacker ultimately let her go, dropping her near her home:
    • “He becomes nice. He hugs me, tells me to get out of the car. He also told me he was sorry for what he did to me.” – Lisa ([35:16])
    • Emotional turning point: “It just reminded me of life. Incredible how I wanted to kill myself. And now I'm wanting to live.” – Lisa ([35:31])
  • Returned home, was beaten by her grandmother’s boyfriend, before her grandmother finally called the police.
• Case Solved:
  • Provided crucial clues (“I saw the word Magnum in the car”, remembered two nearby hotels) that led police to Robert Joe Long ([36:30]).
  • “They started searching down in the area where those hotels were. And one name stood out. Robert Joe Long. He was registered a Dodge Magnum, red spoked wheels.” – Lisa ([37:10])
  • Lisa processed survivor guilt: “Why me? Why was I the only one he let go?... I was so close to death I didn't realize it.” ([37:13])
• Aftermath:
  • Robert Joe Long was convicted and executed in 2019.
  • Lisa, now a law enforcement officer, credits her survival to her ability to “outwit and outsmart” her assailant and her coping skills developed in childhood.

Notable Quote:
“I survived because as a child I learned coping skills to deal with my abuse. I also survived because I outwitted and outsmarted Robert Joe Long.” – Lisa ([37:49])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Harold (on surviving the robbery):
  "I survived because I wasn’t paralyzed by the fear. I was trying very hard to stay alive, and that was my driving force." ([13:04])
• John (on resourcefulness after losing his arms):
  "I just had blood shooting out both sides of me and then I knew that I had no arms at all." ([17:53])
  "The one main reason I survived was because of my dog Tuffy, because he's the one that woke me up." ([25:12])
• Lisa (on her shift in will to live):
  “Incredible how I wanted to kill myself. And now I'm wanting to live.” ([35:31])
  “I survived because I outwitted and outsmarted Robert Joe Long.” ([37:49])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:31] – Start of Harold’s robbery and shooting ordeal
• [07:28] – Gunmen open fire, Harold's co-worker Rose killed beside him
• [10:09] – Harold's escape and call for help
• [15:09] – John’s farm accident and realization of catastrophic injuries
• [17:53] – “Blood shooting out both sides of me” – John’s critical moment
• [22:36] – John reaches hospital; extreme blood loss
• [24:08] – Decision to keep both reattached arms
• [25:12] – Tribute to John’s dog Tuffy
• [26:48] – Lisa’s background; the abduction begins
• [28:51] – “I stood there shaking…” Lisa describes her terror
• [34:13] – Lisa pleads for her life, feigning empathy
• [35:31] – Epiphany under the oak tree: choosing life
• [36:30] – Lisa helps police solve the Robert Joe Long case
• [37:49] – Lisa now a police officer, on her survival and coping

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Themes & Takeaways

• Resilience: Each survivor demonstrates extraordinary resourcefulness and a deep well of inner strength, adapting mentally and physically to their situations.
• Survivor Guilt & Reflection: All grappled with “why me?” but find purpose—whether protecting others, gratitude for life, or supporting future victims.
• Importance of Small Details: From Lisa’s fingerprint strategy to John’s use of a pencil in his mouth, minor actions meant the difference between life and death.
• Lasting Impact: The psychological aftermath remains with all survivors, but they seek meaning in their survival—whether by helping others, treasuring loved ones, or reclaiming personal agency.

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This episode stands as a testament to human resilience and the unyielding instinct to survive—even when faced with overwhelming trauma.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Lisa]

Hablas espanol par l'?

[Harold]

Italiano?

[Lisa]

If you've used Babbel, you would Babbel's Conversation based techniques teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com wandery spelled b a b b e l.com wandery.

[Narrator]

Rules and restrictions may apply Hi I Survived listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson and if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of I Survived as well as the A and E Classic Podcast, Cold Case Files, City Confidential and American justice are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation Channel on on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Harold]

I can see the gun barrel come right across my eye.

[Narrator]

Real people.

[John]

I just had blood shooting out both sides of me and then I knew that I had no arms at all.

[Narrator]

Who faced death.

[Lisa]

I stood there shaken. I had no clothes on and I could just feel a gun pointing at.

[Narrator]

My back and live to tell how.

[Harold]

The emotion I felt was fear. There was no rush of adrenaline. It was strictly fear.

[Narrator]

This is I survived. It's September 1987 in St. Louis, Missouri Harold is managing a grocery store and is working late.

[Harold]

The store had at all times two armed guards while the store was open. At 10 o' clock when the store closed, one of the armed guards went home.

[Narrator]

The other security guard locked up after the customers left.

[Harold]

And then he stayed in the store with us until we all left. At 11 o', clock, I was in my office, which was set a little bit off of the customer service office. It was a little bit elevated.

[Narrator]

Harold heard someone trying to open his office door.

[Harold]

This person was yanking on this door. So I stood up and looked down. That's when I saw a black male with a gun in his hand. And as soon as I looked down and saw that, that's when he forced the door open, took two steps up in the office, put the gun in my head, put it right on my forehead and said, I'm gonna blow your head off. This is a robbery. Open your safe. The emotion I felt was fear. There was no rush of adrenaline. It was strictly fear. I said, okay, calm down. We're going to get the safe open. I walked down a couple of steps into this hallway, small hallway, back to customer service.

[Narrator]

Outside the office containing the safe, Harold saw three of his staff.

[Harold]

I told him, I said, hey guys, turn around. We're being held up here. It's a robbery. We got back to the safe, and at that point he told us all to kneel down on the ground.

[Narrator]

The gunman ordered Harold to open the safe.

[Harold]

I went over to the safe. I started spinning the dial. I don't know the combination to the safe. That's when gunman came up to me, put the gun barrel in my ear, pulled the hammer back, and I could tell he was nervous. The gun was rattling around in my ear. I'm spinning the dial on the safe, trying to buy some time because I knew I couldn't open the safe. Well, when I started messing with the tumblers to open the safe, that's when gunman came up to me, put the gun barrel in my ear, my right ear. I knew he was nervous. I could feel it rattling around in my ear. And I knew I was nervous, but I was scared that he might shoot me on accident because he was so nervous. He got mad because I was taking too long. He pulled the gun out of my ear and hit me right over the head with the gun. He hit me pretty hard, split my head open, but it wasn't hard enough to drop me. I just kind of staggered and held onto the counter. My grocery manager stood up and tried to Open the safe. But Mike was nervous and trying to do the tumblers on that safe. When he was nervous, he couldn't do it. Gunman got mad at Mike, punched him in the face and knocked him down.

[Narrator]

Another staff member offered to open the safe.

[Harold]

Rose stood up and says, I'll get the safe open. She did it all the time, every day. She got up, opened the safe for the guy. He grabbed some money, bricks, we call them bricks of a thousand, they're $1 bills. Grabbed three of those. There was a trash bag, a bag hanging on the counter right behind him. I told him, I said, there's a bag back there, grab use the bag to put your money in. Because the whole time I want to get this man out of here. That's what I was thinking. He took the bag, put the money in the bag and then told us all to stand up. Let's go.

[Narrator]

Harold and his staff were forced at gunpoint to walk to another area of the store.

[Harold]

That's when I saw gunman number two. He was holding a gun on the security guard and my overnight janitor. They were both sitting cross legged on the floor. I was surprised to see a second gunman. And then I was even more surprised to see the security guard with an empty holster and the second gunman had his gun. So they told us at that point, lie down on the floor, all of you, get close together, put your heads up against the wall and lie on your stomach. Well, I knew that wasn't right. So when I went up against the wall, I laid on my left side. And by laying on my left side, I could look across all my people laying there and I could watch the gunman. And I told Rose, Rose was my office girl and she was right next to me. I told her, I said, rose, this isn't right. She says, no, honey, it'll be okay. I said, no, Rose, they wouldn't make us do this in a normal robbery. And no sooner I said that to her, the two guys opened fire on us. From what I saw, they were just cross firing, just emptying two guns as fast as they could. When I got shot, I felt a lot of pain. Felt like a very hard punch. It was a very deep seated burning in my chest. So I knew I got shot in the chest.

[Narrator]

Harold was lying next to his co worker Rose.

[Harold]

My face was right next to Rose's and I heard her go and I felt that she got shot and that was it for Rose. She never moved, she never said a sound, nothing.

[Narrator]

One of the gunmen had stolen the security Guard's gun.

[Harold]

Gunman number two walked up to the security guard who was laying on his stomach and already been shot once. Rolled him over on his back and said, give me some bullets. I know you have more bullets. And the security guard said, no, I don't have any. I'm thinking this whole time, don't give him any bullets. But he said, give me your bullets. He says, okay, they're in my top pocket, but I can't get them.

[Narrator]

The gunman took the bullets out of the security guard's pocket and reloaded the gun.

[Harold]

He put the gun on Mike, my grocery manager's head. Mike's alive still. And Mike's looking at me. And I was looking at him like, I can't help you, Mike. I'm hurt, too. Pulls the trigger. And it clicked. And I thought, okay, pulled the trigger the second time, it clicked again. Now I'm thinking, okay, good. Those bullets that the security guard gave him were bad. We pulled the trigger the third time, the gun went off, and he shot Mike from about 2 inches away, right in the head. At that point, I was in fear. I was scared. I knew I was hurt bad, but I was alive, and I didn't want to get shot again, didn't think I could make it if I got shot again. I was very scared. I was bleeding very bad, both from my head and from my chest. He then at that point, stepped over the guard, put the gun on the janitor, pulled the trigger. Boom stepped over him, put the gun on Rose, pulled the trigger. Boom stepped over Rose. Now, I'm watching this, and I've got my head on the side, my hands up against my head, and I'm watching. I can see the gun barrel come right across my eye. And right when I felt boom was coming, I jerked my head back out of the way, and he pulled the trigger at that exact moment. Bullet hit the floor, came up, hit me right on the side of the face. Well, I flopped over on top of Rose just to make it look like I was dead. Gunman number two said to gunman number one, that guy moved. And gunman number one said, it doesn't matter. He's going to die anyway. Maybe two or three minutes went by, and I was feeling really faint that I was going to pass out. So I thought, I better sit up. I didn't know if the gunmen were still right next to me. I had my eyes closed. I just sat up, looked around, did not see the gunman, saw the people, my fellow workers, and saw how bad they were and knew that they couldn't help me. So I knew if I wanted to get some help I'd have to do it myself.

[Narrator]

Harold did not know if the gunmen were still in the building. Bleeding Heavily, he crawled 30ft to a phone.

[Harold]

We had a phone that was about four feet off the ground which was perfect because I was sitting, it was right about at my head when I called 91 1. The operator told me to speak up. She said, I can't hardly hear you. I said, I can't talk any louder. I don't know if the gunmen are still in here. I've been shot in the chest. I can't breathe. This is as loud as I can talk. She said, if you don't talk any louder, if you don't speak up, I don't think I can help you or I can't help you. I said, this is as loud as I can talk. You're going to have to send help. After I hung up the phone with the 911 operator, I wasn't sure that she was even going to get me any help. So I called home and talked to my wife. I told my wife that we had been robbed, we'd all been shot, were hurt. I said, Call 911. The operator didn't believe me at that point too. I had two little girls. I had a three and a half year old and eleven month old. I told her to give the girls a kiss for me. I was bleeding so bad at that point I really didn't think I was going to make it.

[Narrator]

A few minutes later he hears sirens.

[Harold]

The paramedics and all that came into the store. I was behind the customer service counter. Nobody could see me back there.

[Narrator]

The staff who had been shot were lying in a back room nearby.

[Harold]

I can hear the police in there. I can hear the paramedics. I can hear them kind of crying and screaming, the paramedics, because it was a mess in there. Well at that point I couldn't even talk. So I was making groaning sounds and moaning real loud. And I just kept doing that, hoping to get somebody's attention. Lo and behold, I think it was a police officer, said, everybody be quiet. So when everybody got quiet I started moaning even louder. And then he came around through the office, through the doorway, through the hallway and saw me back there. And he says, oh my God, Stormanger's back here.

[Narrator]

Harold was taken to the hospital. Surgeons were unable to remove the bullet in his chest.

[Harold]

The bullet traveled across my chest and it's lodged right here on my artery right above my heart.

[Narrator]

Five of the six staff shot by the gunman died two months later. The perpetrators were arrested and convicted of murder. Marvin Jennings and Donnie Blankenship are both currently serving life sentences.

[Harold]

At first it was very hard to deal with this because I ran this robbery through my head a thousand times. What could I have done different so nobody got hurt. I talked to the police, I talked to everybody that I could talk to, and they all assured me I did everything I was supposed to do, that it wasn't my fault, that it was predetermined that they were going to kill all the witnesses. And I've been able to live with that. Now I survived because I wasn't paralyzed by the fear. I was trying very hard to stay alive, and that was my driving force.

[Narrator]

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[John]

Mmm.

[Narrator]

Ooh, whatcha eating?

[Harold]

The new banana split cookie from AM pm. All freshly baked with real butter with banana, chocolate and strawberry flavors. Wow.

[Narrator]

That sounds amazing. Can I have a bite?

[Harold]

I'm sorry but no. But you can't split the banana split.

[Narrator]

Not even a little.

[Harold]

Not even a crumb. What if no, please mine when it's too legit to split. That's cravenience.

[John]

Get a 3 pack for 99 cents.

[Harold]

With our app ampm.

[John]

Too much good stuff plus tax where applicable. Prices and participation may vary. Terms and conditions apply.

[Narrator]

This message is sponsored by Greenlight. With school out, summer is the perfect time to teach our kids real world money skills they'll use Forever. Greenlight is a debit card and the number one family finance and safety app used by millions of families, helping kids learn how to save, invest and spend wisely. Parents can send their kids money and track their spending and saving while kids build money, confidence and skills in fun ways. Start your risk free greenlight trial [e-mail] wondery that's greenlight.com wondery It's January 1992 in Minot, North Dakota.

[John]

I was an 18 year old senior in high school living on a farm. Rural, very rural area. You're alone a lot of the time. And that's just pretty much how it was growing up there.

[Narrator]

It's Saturday and John had work to do on the farm.

[John]

And my parents had left for Bismarck to see my cousin who's in the hospital. And my brother's sister had already moved off the farm. So I was home by myself with just me and my dog.

[Narrator]

John's dog Tuffy was his constant companion.

[John]

And my tour for the day was on the barley from a grain truck into a grain auger into the grain bin using the power takeoff shaft off the tractor.

[Narrator]

The shaft was 4ft long and 2ft off the ground. It spun at 2,500 rpm.

[John]

I was just standing there watching the grain come out of the truck into the hopper and into the grain bin. And I must have got too close to the shaft and it grabbed my shirt tails because I didn't have them tucked in and started wrapping my shirt up. And I reached down to pull my shirt out and then my arms got caught in my shirt and got wrapped in with this power shaft.

[Narrator]

As his shirt tail was caught by the machinery, John's arms were pulled into the shaft.

[John]

The next thing I know, everything's just dark and I'm just feeling fun. I open my eyes and my dog is licking my face and I'm laying on my left side and I didn't know what was going on. I knew something was wrong because my right arm felt really weird. And I looked over my right arm to see what was wrong with it and I couldn't see it. And I thought it was broken behind my back. And while I was looking at it, I was trying to push myself up with my left arm and I wasn't moving. And I looked back to my left arm and I could see where my left arm was ripped off from right below the shoulder. Then I looked back at my right arm and I noticed the right arm was missing right below the shoulder. And then I knew that I had no arms at all. I never felt any pain. I had no clue that anything was wrong until I really looked at myself. I knew I had to get up and get to the house. And I couldn't lift myself up because I had no arms to do that with. And I eventually got myself to sit up and then just kind of bounced over to the tractor tire and put my back against the tire and. And pushed myself up that way. He's the tire to support me. And I stood up and took a couple steps and looked at myself again and just screamed for a few seconds or a split second and looked at my dog and just calmed down right away. He just sat there looking at me with his head cocked to the side and his ears sticking up and just kind of telling me, you know, we're going to get to the house. And I just kept looking at him and kind of concentrated on him and him and I walked up to the house together.

[Narrator]

John's parents were away and the main door was closed.

[John]

I just got down on my knees and bit the doorknob with my mouth and turned it with my head to get the main door open. And once I was inside, I just stood there and looked down and realized how much I was still bleeding everywhere. The walls on both sides of the hallway were just covered in blood because when I walked down, I just had blood shooting out both sides of me. So I just kind of quickly went across the room to get to our office where it was the only place we had a touch tone phone. Knocked the phone off the hook with my nose. And I was trying to dial at first using my nose, and I kept hitting the wrong numbers. So then I grabbed a pencil with my teeth so it'd be easier to punch out the numbers. And then I done it that way and called my cousin. I never once thought about dialing the ambulance myself. I just thought about calling somebody else.

[Narrator]

John told his cousin what had happened and to call an ambulance.

[John]

And she thought I was joking with her and really wasn't taking me serious. And I'm like, tammy, I'm not joking here. This is serious. I need an ambulance right away. I don't have any arms. And then she's like, okay, I'll call an ambulance to get out there right away. I was sitting in the office and I saw the blood that was collecting around on the chair and stuff. And then I went to sit in the bathtub so the blood would just be. The bathroom had blood pretty much everywhere. And then I slowly started to quit bleeding because I was running out of blood.

[Narrator]

After calling an ambulance, John's cousin and aunt rushed to the farm.

[John]

By the time they got to the farm, I was sitting in the bathtub because I was still bleeding quite a bit. I heard my aunt Renee come in and her yelling, john, where are You. John, where are you? I said, I'm in the bathroom. Do not come in here. Stay out. You can't see me. Don't come in here. And she just came running into the bathroom. But luckily the shower curtain was closed in the bathtub, so she couldn't see me. And I said, don't open the shower curtains. Keep the curtains closed. You cannot see me. Don't look at me. And I was just afraid of her seeing me and her panicking. And she asked me numerous times if she could look in, and I just said, no, you cannot see me this way. I won't let you. I could hear Tammy outside yelling, what's going on? And my Aunt Renee telling her to stay out of the bathroom and wait for the ambulance.

[Narrator]

The enormous loss of blood caused John to feel dizzy. Without urgent blood transfusions, he will die.

[John]

And then when I started getting really dizzy and I was afraid I was going to fall over, she said, I really need to look at you, John. I said, okay, but just, I'm warning you, I have absolutely no arms. And she opened up the shower curtain and looked at me and took a breath. She said, okay, let's sit you on the stool here, and I'll hold you up and we'll wait for the ambulance together. And she picked me up out of the bathtub, sat me on the stool, and then I just kind of leaned in against her chest and rested my head on her shoulder. And she said that, don't worry about it. We can reattach your arms and everything will be fine. And she just kept reassuring me of everything. I started saying how I'm getting really, really tired. She said, just close your eyes and relax. I said, I can't go to sleep. If I close my eyes, I'm going to die. I said, I got to stay awake. If I fall asleep, I'm dead. We just sat there, and she just kept me talking the whole time because I just kept saying, if I fall asleep, I'm dead. I said, I got to stay awake, so I got to keep talking. And we were telling jokes back and forth and just talking like having a normal conversation. I was so calm and relaxed that my brain basically shut down.

[Narrator]

John has lost so much blood. He is now in deep shock. His blood pressure has plummeted, and he needs an urgent blood transfusion.

[John]

Me and Ma were sitting in the bathroom, and then I heard my cousin start yelling, tammy outside. And so I knew the ambulance was there. And the ambulance crew walked in the bathroom. They took one look at me, and they were Just eyeballs were just huge. And they turned around and walked out. And I was just like, where are you going? And it was just such an enormous shock to them because they thought I just had a broken arm. They had no clue the extent of my injuries. And they went outside and they recollected themselves very quickly. And they came back in and said, rick's gonna go down and get your arms. We need plastic bags, we need ice, and we're gonna take you to Harvey Hospital.

[Narrator]

The paramedic looked for John's arms beside the power shaft.

[John]

The one arm was laying right underneath the PTO shaft where I was knocked unconscious at where it happened. And the other arm he couldn't find. And then he started walking back towards the house. My dog was barking at him. And he turned around, and my dog Tuffy was standing over my other arm. And Rick was kind of nervous, my dog biting him, because he said when he was walking up there that my dog was right on his heels the whole time and just watching them with my arms.

[Narrator]

John is taken to the hospital.

[John]

By the time I reached the Harvey hospital, I had lost so much blood that there was no medical reason I should be alive.

[Narrator]

Doctors tried to insert an IV for blood transfusions, started trying to get an.

[John]

IV started in my foot, but I completely bled out and all my veins had collapsed. And the pain from that was just unreal because up until then, I never felt any pain at all.

[Narrator]

After the transfusions, John was flown to a Minneapolis hospital for surgery.

[John]

They wheeled me into the emergency room there, and I'm just laying there like, what am I doing? What's going to happen to me? I said, what's going on? I'm here by myself. I don't know anybody. I'm just terrified. And my doctor walked in. He said, John, I'm Dr. Van Beek, and I'm here to help you out and see what we can do for you. He's like, I've been sent the X rays. We know what's going to happen. You have two options. We can put your arms on, or we can leave them off. And I said, I'm already here. Let's put him on. He explains to me that if I have my arms reattached, there's a chance of me getting infection and dying from it. And it's going to be a major shock to my system. And the survival rate isn't as good if I just leave him off. And then again, I said, I'm here. Put him on. And he's like, okay. We'll get you prepped and get you into surgery right away.

[Narrator]

John's parents were contacted and his father arrived at the hospital.

[John]

We just sat there for about five minutes and talked back and forth. And he's told me not to worry about it and go have the surgery. He'll see me back when I get out.

[Narrator]

John had eight hours of surgery to reattach his arms.

[John]

I just kept being every odd they gave at me because even after they reattached the arms, they want to take the one arm off because. Because it was dead and they couldn't get the blood circulating. It was just dead tissue. And I said, no, you're leaving it on there. And then miraculously, it just started turning pink and warming up and the blood started circulating through. And then when that happened, it flushed. All those toxins in my body of dead blood cells and dead tissue got flushed in my system, and that pretty much almost killed me.

[Narrator]

Six weeks later, John left the hospital with only limited shoulder movement. For the next three years, John fought to regain the use of his arms.

[John]

I can move my arms back and forth and my wrists both work. I can grab stuff with my thumb for writing, or I grab a pencil. I type with my thumb. My Dr. Van Beek is really amazed with what I can do. And obviously I owe it all to him and a lot to my own stubbornness.

[Narrator]

John also pays tribute to his dog Tuffy, who died a year after the accident.

[John]

The one main reason I survived was because of my dog Tuffy, because he's the one that woke me up. You guys remember when I stood up and looked in his eyes and he just said, we're going to do this. And this dog was never allowed in the house. And they brought me home from the hospital. They sat me down on the floor in the living room and opened up the patio door, and that dog ran in the living room right away and sat right in my lap and just laid there with me. And he's pretty much the reason I survived.

[Narrator]

I Survived is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. What do you think Makes the perfect snack.

[Harold]

Hmm. It's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient.

[Narrator]

Could you be more specific?

[Harold]

When it's cray venient. Okay. Like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter, available right down the street at am, pm. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can.

[Lisa]

Grab in just a second at am, pm.

[Narrator]

I'm sorry, a pattern here.

[Harold]

Well, yeah, we're talking about what I.

[Narrator]

Crave, which is anything from am, pm.

[Harold]

What more could you want?

[John]

Stop by AMPM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravenience. Am, Pm too much. Good stuff.

[Narrator]

It's September 1984 in Tampa, Florida. Seventeen year old Lisa lives in an abusive household.

[Lisa]

My childhood consisted of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. When I was 14, I went to go live with my grandmother to get away from the abuse at home. And for the next three years my grandmother's boyfriend sexually abused me. I was tired of living. I decided one day I wanted to commit suicide. I was tired of being abused. I didn't think I was worth anything. And I sat down and wrote my suicide note.

[Narrator]

As well as being in high school, Lisa had a night job at a donut shop.

[Lisa]

I put the suicide note aside and I went to work. My boss came to me, asked if I could work a double shift, which was late into the early mornings.

[Narrator]

At 2am Lisa finished her double shift and rode home on her bicycle. Halfway home, Lisa passed the parking lot of a church.

[Lisa]

But I noticed a car in the middle of the church parking lot. It kind of seemed odd to me. I at that point felt scared something was wrong and next thing I know, it felt like someone just knocked me. My throat knocked me to the ground and I felt the barrel of a gun to the left side of my temple. At that point it was so dark I really couldn't see him. I just felt his arm around my throat and he drugged me to his car from behind. I knew it was red or maroon color and I noticed the wheels had like spoke wheels in them. And then he threw me to the passenger's side and told me to undress. My attacker demanded that I perform sexual act on him. I was shaking with fear. I was deathly afraid that he was going to kill me. Here I was thinking about killing myself and now I'm going to be fighting for my life. After the sexual act was completed, he told me I was going to continue to show him a good time tonight if I did what he said. I'm going to be okay.

[Narrator]

Lisa still has not seen the gunman's face.

[Lisa]

He put a blindfold on me. He bound my legs and my arms. And then he drove off. When I was in the front seat and the seat was back, I could see beneath my blindfold. And I kept seeing a bright light on the dashboard. And I finally got to read it, and it was Magnum. The word Magnum. I believe that when you are blindfolded, all your other senses come into play. I remember hearing the sounds of the car. Needed a tune up. The different wind change once you got into the interstate. We drove down the interstate for a few minutes. And he drove off the interstate until he pulled up into some wooded area. And I had no clue where I was at. I was scared.

[Narrator]

Then the gunman stopped at a house surrounded by trees.

[Lisa]

He ordered me out of the car. We walked to a door. I was blinded, so I remember having to feel. I felt this door. It felt like a wooden door with glass pane.

[Narrator]

The gunman walked Lisa upstairs and into a bathroom.

[Lisa]

He removed my blindfold and my bindings from my wrists and my ankles. Put me in the shower and ordered me not to look at him. He held me close and he gave me a shower. He just felt like the boy next door. First he attacks me, and now he's giving me a shower. It just felt odd. Almost like he was playing out a romantic relationship. He ordered me to the floor, and I wouldn't go to the floor. And he threw me to the floor. And he. He raped me brutally. I was not able to see what he looked like at this time because he was raping me from behind. I was screaming. He ordered me to. To shut up. And I did whatever he told me to do. I did. I stood there shaking. I had no clothes on, and I could just feel a gun pointing at my back. And I was just embarrassed because a total stranger seeing me naked, I just. It was awful. He ordered me to the bed, told me to lay down on the bed. And he bound me again, Tied my legs and my arms. And he blindfolded me again. He gets in the bed. I'm on my back. He slides the gun over my stomach, saying, I still have this. And it must have been some type of headboard because he put it on the headboard. And then he repeatedly rapes me throughout the night. There was a point during my attack. He had fallen asleep and woke back up and reached over and he took my hands and placed them on his face. And I'm thinking to myself, what is he doing? I can feel his eyebrows. They were Thin. He had a thin mustache. He had small ears. I could feel his hairline. Short haircut. He had a pockmark face, almost like he had bad acne at one time or another. But it helped me to see his face. I didn't stop touching his face in fear of he might hit me or get angry. I wanted him to play out whatever he was playing out. A romantic, love, dating, girlfriend scenario. Whatever it took, I was going to do. So I had to use my mind and outwit him. He let me go to the bathroom but kept the door open, and I couldn't go. And I told him, I said, I can't go. You stand there, you're gonna have to close the door. And he did. He closed the door. And as soon as he closed the door, I decided to start putting my fingerprints everywhere. Shower curtain walls, picture frames, mirrors, toilet seat. Anything to show that I was in that room. I never heard any noises, never heard any of the people, cars. I heard nothing. It just felt like I was all alone in a black box. I decided during my attack to treat my attacker as a normal person. Even though he was raping me, brutally raping me. I wanted him to think that he was still a good person instead of a monster that he really was. I had to lie to him, make things up. I told him that I was an only child and I had a father that was very ill. If something was to happen to me, no one would be able to take care of him. He asked me to if I went to school. I said yes. He was asking me to describe girlfriends who I changed with in locker rooms and describe their bodies to him, of what they looked like. I never got dressed or undressed in front of anybody. I always changed in the bathroom. I was very shy and embarrassed because I was already being abused. And that last thing I wanted to do is be changing in front of somebody. So I lied. Whatever he wanted to hear, I gave it to him. It was probably the next day. He asked me, what am I going to do with you? He clothed me and told me to sit on the edge of the bed. And I did. And a general conversation, what do I do with you now? And I played on that. And I told him, I am willing to be your girlfriend. I'll do whatever it takes. I won't tell anybody what happened. You seem like a nice person. And he goes, oh, no, no, no. I was like, okay, where do you live at? I told him the area I lived at. He said, okay, let's go. And he reminded me he still had the gun, and he took me to the car. As we got in the car, I was shaking. I was nervous, thinking, don't give him any reason to shoot you in the car and dump your body off somewhere. No matter what it took, I was going to fight for my life.

[Narrator]

The gunman puts Lisa in the car, saying he will take her home.

[Lisa]

I gave him directions of where to take me at, you know, blow by blow. And he starts driving. And beneath my blindfold, I could see two hotels in the area. I remember the names of the hotel because it gave us a general idea of where he had me at. He jumps on the interstate, goes back the way I'm telling him to. He tells me where he's at. He's one block away from where he's supposed to drop me off.

[Narrator]

The gunman drove into a parking lot and stopped.

[Lisa]

He becomes nice. He hugs me, tells me to get out of the car. He also told me he was sorry for what he did to me. He actually said sorry. Told me to stand there, away from the street until he drove off. I did exactly that. Blindfold and all. I hear the car drive off. Fell to my knees, took the blindfold off. And I saw an amazing. An amazing oak tree. An amazing oak tree. It just reminded me of life. Incredible how I wanted to kill myself. And now I'm wanting to live. And I thought, my God, he may change his mind, come after me. And I started running to my house, and I ran every car that drove by me. I hit the ground. I'm sure people by me thought I was a crazy nut. I finally got back to my house. I knew my grandmother would be there. And for the next five hours, when my grandmother's boyfriend opened the door, he beat me for five hours, Asked me where I was at, where I'd been, who was I with. And my grandmother finally took a stand and said, you know what? Enough's enough. And she called the police.

[Narrator]

Lisa was interviewed about her ordeal by a police officer.

[Lisa]

I gave him some information about where he may have taken me just by my sense of direction. I gave him clues of. I saw the word Magnum in the car, and he asked me, anything else you could remember? I said, yeah, I remember two hotels. A Quality Inn and a Howard Johnson. And that's what broke the case wide open.

[Narrator]

There had been 10 unsolved murders of women in the same area.

[Lisa]

They started searching down in the area where those hotels were. And one name stood out. Robert Joe Long. He was registered a Dodge Magnum, red spoked wheels.

[Narrator]

Two weeks later, Robert Joe Long was.

[Lisa]

Arrested, I learned that he had raped over 50 women in Miami. I learned that he tried to be the serial killer and killed 10 women in the Bay Area. And that's when I started thinking, why me? Why was I the only one he let go? I was so close to death I didn't realize it.

[Narrator]

Robert Joe Long was convicted of rape and murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on May 23, 2019. Lisa is now a police officer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

[Lisa]

Ever since I was a little girl, all the abuse I went through up to my attack with Robert Geelong, I always wanted to be a police officer because I wanted to genuinely help other people who become victims. For whatever reason it may be, I survived because as a child I learned coping skills to deal with my abuse. I also survived because I outwit it and outsmarted forever. Too long.