Talk about revenge.
One woman from Florida who became paralyzed after getting attacked by her jealous ex is now set to compete at the 2024 Paralympics.
Tracy Otto had broken up with Francpiero Del Medico when, two weeks later, he burst into her home and physically and sexually assaulted her.
“I remember waking up confused but hearing the voice and knowing it was my ex-boyfriend,” the 27-year-old told South West News Service. “He shot me through my left eye, neck and mouth and then put the gun inside of me.
“I thought he had killed me.”
Del Medico also attacked Otto’s date, Rick Riessle, who was staying over at her house. With a pellet gun, he shot Riessle in the head and the face, and Otto in the back and genitals. They were both stabbed in the back. Otto’s spinal cord was severed and she become paralyzed from the neck down, according to SWNS.
‘What was done to me was horrible but you can choose to give up or play your best hand with what has been dealt.’
Tracy Otto, survivor
After the attack, Otto had to go to physical therapy in order to learn how to swallow, eat and sit up again. She also lost her left eye, which had to be removed after it was hit by Medico’s pellet gun. Luckily, however, the archer still has some movement left in her hands and arms.
Medico, 33, was arrested and charged with “two counts of burglary with assault, two counts of attempted murder in the first degree, one count of sexual battery and two counts of aggravated bodily harm,” according to SWNS.
In January, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty on all charges.
However, the 2019 attack hasn’t stopped Otto, who now uses a wheelchair. She found a love for archery, and learned to use her mouth and then later, her shoulders, to shoot a bow and arrow.
Her new passion has taken her all the way to the big leagues — Otto is now a professional archer and will be joining Team USA at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris next summer.
“It was a fluke I got into archery,” Otto explained. “Ricky and I were driving and I just said I wanted to do it and ended up finding an adaptive course.”
The horrible attack brought Otto and Riessle closer together — they are now in a relationship, and she said that they are both “so happy” and “in love” with each other.
“She makes me wake up a better person every day,” Riessle said of his girlfriend.
“What was done to me was horrible but you can choose to give up or play your best hand with what has been dealt,” Otto said.