On Feb. 14, as a gunman wandered the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, 15-year-old Anthony Borges was trapped in a classroom with 20 other people. As the gunman came upon the classroom and began shooting, Anthony barricaded the door with his body, preventing the shooter from entering. Everyone in that room survived, including Anthony, who was shot five times during the course of the encounter.
Now Anthony, who has been in the hospital since the shooting, has finally been released from the hospital, CNN reports. He’s the final Parkland, Fla., school-shooting survivor to go home.
As CNN reports, a third of Anthony’s lung had to be removed as a result of the shooting; three bullets hit his legs, while another one just missed his liver. Because of the intensity of his wounds, Anthony still has a long and arduous road to recovery ahead of him.
Speaking to NBC’s Today show Wednesday morning, Anthony spoke slowly—a result of his wounds, said correspondent Kerry Sanders.
“A lot of people are very thankful for what you did. Have you even thought about that?” Sanders asked.
Anthony shook his head no.
If Anthony doesn’t consider himself a hero, many others do. The family has received letters of gratitude and encouragement from people all over the world, including from Venezuela, where Anthony’s parents are from.
According to Sanders, Anthony’s friends have started referring to him as “the real Iron Man.” And a GoFundMe to support the 15-year-old student and soccer player has raised nearly $800,000 as of Wednesday morning.
Still, life is bound to get more difficult for Anthony’s family. They’ve already had to move from their apartment to a ground-level home, per the advice of Anthony’s doctors, who said that climbing stairs would be too much for the young man. Anthony’s recovery will be a full-time job, and the family intends to sue Broward County, Fla., Broward County Public Schools and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
Alex Arreaza, Anthony’s attorney, in his notice of intent to sue, wrote: “The failure of Broward County Public Schools, and of the principal and school resource officer to adequately protect students, and in particular our client, from life-threatening harm were unreasonable, callous and negligent.”