Shot-in-face soldier improving

The GDF soldier who had accidentally shot himself in the face on May 2 is still a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

Private Howard Willis’s condition is listed as improved and stable and he has been transferred from the intensive care unit to the high dependency unit of the GPH.

When Willis’ mother Olive spoke with this newspaper yesterday, she related that her son’s condition had improved greatly.

She said that he is now capable of moving around and though he is still unable to speak because of the injuries sustained, he is fully conscious and would respond by way of gestures which include moving his hand, hands or eyes. The 21-year-old also writes as a means of communicating.

The mother of the soldier said, “I real thankful that God spare me son life, cause he could a been a dead man today.”

According to reports reaching Stabroek News, Willis was holding his gun when it accidentally went off hitting him in the face.

The incident occurred around 8 pm on May 2 at the Coast Guard’s Ruimveldt Headquarters.
Howard Willis Snr had told Stabroek News that his son’s jaw was fractured and the nasal part of his face “destroyed”.