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Father of Man Wounded in Las Vegas Shooting Says God Intervened to Save Son's Life

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Oct 13, 2017

Phil Aurich was one of the victims of the deadly Las Vegas shooting, which took place on Oct. 1. Phil was shot in the left side when gunfire rained down on the attendees of the Route 91 Harvest festival at Mandalay Bay.

According to ABC affiliate station KSTP 5, Phil's family believes it is only through God’s grace that he is alive today.

A series of events happened to Phil that night that he and his family believe are evidence of divine intervention. After Phil was shot, his girlfriend insisted he keep running to get out of the line of fire, but when he could run no more, a police officer who was supposed to be setting up roadblocks realized it was more urgent that Phil get to the hospital and took him there.

"I don't know how long he would have lasted if he would have had to sit there and wait,” said Phil’s father, Mike Aurich.

When Phil arrived at the hospital he was met by Dr. Tim Dickhudt.The doctor knew he had to operate on Phil right away.

"The bullet went in on his left side, and of course it did all that damage when it got inside," Mike continued. "But Tim saw that, and said to the other surgeon, 'This guy's got to get on the table now.'"

It also turned out that Dr. Dickhudt had ties to the Aurich family. "Tim's father John, who is a doctor here in town, and Mindy, my wife, went to grade school together," Mike said. "Then we found out Tim grew up in Woodbury, about 5 blocks from where we lived. Then it turns out my wife's mother and Tim's grandmother were good friends. It's so ironic. Mindy has a son and raises him to be shot. And John has a son and raises him to be the doctor (who cared) for him. You just can't get beyond that being a Godly thing."

Phil is reportedly out of the ICU and recovering well.

"I believe that was God's hands," Mike added. "He calls you when he is ready. And I don't know what he has in mind for Phil. But obviously, he has something left for Phil to do and he chose to spare him."

 

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Publication date: October 13, 2017