A 15-year-old whose estranged stepfather allegedly shot him several times three weeks ago convinced doctors to let him out of the hospital a day early so he could attend his little brother's football game.
Corey Dooley, a sophomore at South Grand Prairie High School, was shot in the leg and twice in the chest when he arrived home in DeSoto on Oct. 16. His mother was hit once in the arm, but her injury was minor.
Dooley's estranged stepfather, Richard Richard, is charged in the attack and remains in jail.
When Dooley arrived at the hospital after he was shot, nobody was sure if he would survive.
He underwent 13 blood transfusions and several surgeries. Step by step, he regained his strength and learned to walk again.
"I'm doing good," he said. "The doctors let me out a day early because my progress is really good."
"It's great to step on the field again, even though it's not for me," he said. "I'm glad to support my brother."
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Until he was shot, Dooley played himself for South Grand Prairie High School.
"I walked into the hospital and didn't know whether he was alive or dead," said Brent Whitson, South Grand Prairie coach.
Whitson frequently visited him in the hospital and closely followed his progress.
"You can use a lot of words -- amazing, unbelievable, a miracle -- but, mostly, it's just a kid who wouldn't quit fighting," he said.
Dooley said he can't wait to get back to school and, next season, to playing football.
He is the son of an NBC DFW photojournalist.
