The wife of an Arizona man shot in the head last month while street preaching in Glendale, Arizona, said she and her family have witnessed a “miracle” every day after doctors initially assumed her husband wouldn’t survive the ordeal.
Zulya Schmidt, wife of 26-year-old Hans Schmidt, told CBN Digital her husband continues to make stunning progress despite facing a litany of medical uncertainties.
“We’re hopeful, and we’re praying, and we’re contending for a supernatural recovery,” Zulya Schmidt said. “But there’s just so much unknown still, so much uncertainty.”
She said there’s hope though, noting, “Every day we’ve been able to witness a miracle.”
Watch Schmidt share the harrowing details:
Schmidt called Hans’ progress “just amazing” and said he’s now able to understand a bit more of the situation he’s in after being shot on Nov. 15. She’s unsure exactly how much he comprehends because he’s unable to communicate, though he is increasingly aware of the circumstances he’s in.
As CBN Digital reported, Hans, a 26-year-old dad of two, a military combat veteran, and the outreach director at Victory Chapel First Phoenix in Arizona was taken to the hospital on Nov. 15 on suspicion of having been assaulted.
But a CT scan revealed he had been shot. Schmidt soon descended into serious condition, as his family prayed for a miracle, imploring others to do the same.
Zulya Schmidt shared details with CBN News of what unfolded the evening of the shooting, noting Hans was street preaching as he has frequently done over the past year.
“He’s been doing that for over a year, and, usually, he street preaches for 30 minutes before every evening service for our church,” she said. “That day, he just ended street preaching early, and I thought that was odd.”
Schmidt said Hans loaded the sound system into the car after being shot and drove to the church. She suddenly noticed he was bleeding and assumed someone had potentially thrown a bottle at him while he was speaking or injured him in another similar way.
“I had no idea what really had happened,” she said. “He drives our vehicle to the church [and] unloads the sound system.”
Schmidt was increasingly concerned by her husband’s bleeding and convinced him to go to the hospital. On the way, she said he started throwing up; by the time they reached the emergency room, he was seizing.
At the time, even the doctors treating him were unaware he was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. It was only after a CT scan that physicians found the bullet — a revelation that left his wife completely stunned. To make matters worse, by that point, Hans had become unresponsive.
“My heart sank,” Schmidt said. “I just felt sick to my stomach.”
Doctors and authorities initially didn’t have much hope for Hans.
“They were like, ‘Yeah, no one’s going to touch it,’” she said of the bullet. “No neurosurgeons; it’s just not operable, and then even just hearing the detective say, ‘We’ll know more after the autopsy.’”
She said these statements left her struggling to grapple with the reality before her, yet Schmidt continued to cling to her faith throughout the ordeal — and Hans kept fighting for his life.
Schmidt said she’s “shocked” by the peace she has had throughout the unthinkable, crediting it all to God and people’s prayers.
“I know God has a plan in all of this, because there’s no other way to explain it … the ugliness that I would see and just the peace that I had,” Schmidt said. “I remember … when he was in the ICU, [I said], ‘Everything’s gonna be alright.’”
Looking back, she knows it was God sustaining her, because, in reality, nothing looked like it would be OK. Despite the peace Schmidt has experienced, the circumstances have been challenging.
She has two small children, with her youngest just 3 months old.
“Just seeing your loved one in that situation, it’s not easy,” she said. “He was the main provider for our household, and he would go to work, and now … it’s like a whole reset; [he has] to relearn everything and the brain is such a sensitive thing.”
Police continue to look for the person responsible for the shooting. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Schmidt family deal with the massive expenses they’re sure to incur.
