How Kevin Robinson survived a teenage shooting to write his story of 'True Pain' and survival

In 1998, the same year the Reggae Boyz became the first Caribbean nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals in France, Kevin Robinson was a 16-year-old happy-go-lucky teenager in Jamaica. He spent his days like most young people on the island, playing with friends, dreaming about the future and enjoying the simple pleasures of youth.

In December that year, just days before Christmas, tragedy struck. Bullets shattered the life he knew and forced him onto a path he never imagined.

Robinson was shot in the back by gunmen while visiting friends in Greenwich Town, Kingston. His life was forever changed. He spent a year at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and would never walk again or experience many of the things most teenagers take for granted.

Today, nearly three decades later, Robinson has survived. His heart-wrenching story is not one of defeat, but of extraordinary resilience, faith and hope. His journey — from a hospital bed in downtown Kingston to becoming an author, motivational figure and symbol of perseverance — continues to inspire everyone who hears it.

THE DAY THAT CHANGED KEVIN'S LIFE FOREVER

In December 1998, Kevin Robinson was not involved in any criminal activity when tragedy struck. His memory of that day is sketchy, but it began with a simple visit to friends in Greenwich Town. Then gunfire erupted and brought him to the ground.

"I went to visit friends and sat down on the roadside to laugh and talk, typical teenager stuff," he recalled.

Caught in the crossfire, a bullet pierced his back and severed his spinal cord, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

"The most vivid memory is of the man standing over me with a gun while I lay on the ground," Robinson said.

"I tried to move, but quickly realized I could not move my feet. I tried to move my upper body and I just could not move."

Robinson was rushed to Kingston Public Hospital, where he spent a full year fighting for his life and struggling to understand the devastating reality of his injuries.

"I got shot in December 1998 and came out in December 1999," he said.

"I did not even know of such a word as paralyzed at the age of 16. I never knew somebody could lose their mobility and not be able to walk."

Lying in a hospital bed surrounded by tubes and medical equipment, he initially believed he would recover.

"Each day that passed by, I realized that I could not move my feet. It wasn't easy," he said.

As the days, weeks and months passed, it became clear he would never walk again.

"My foot dem draw down smaller than my hands. My foot come down like a piece of plywood," he said.

Despite the best efforts of doctors at KPH, there was no improvement.

"The doctors would pull up my feet and ask, 'Can you feel that?' I would tell them no," he recalled.

As the realization grew that he might never walk again, Robinson faced some of the darkest moments of his life.

One particularly painful memory involved a drainage tube inserted beneath his rib cage. When it became infected, doctors were forced to perform a procedure he still remembers vividly.

"Every cut me feel," he recalled. "Every slice of the blade me feel. That morning I cried."

The trauma was overwhelming.

Throughout Robinson's year-long hospitalization, however, one person never abandoned him — his grandmother, Rubeina Brown.

"The strongest support I ever got was from my grandmother," he said.

Despite living in Clarendon, she regularly made the two- to three-hour journey to Kingston to be by his bedside.

"Every week my granny come look for me. My granny reach hospital before doctor make rounds," he recalled.

Robinson credits her with keeping him alive emotionally when all hope seemed lost.

"My grandmother is the one who raised me from 10 months old. We built an unbreakable bond."

When he cried, she comforted him. When despair threatened to consume him, she strengthened him. Her sacrifices became the foundation upon which Robinson rebuilt his life.

"The best thing she ever do was take me back down here in Clarendon and look after me," he said.

She fed him, cared for him and encouraged him through the painful adjustment to life in a wheelchair.

Though she passed away recently at the age of 98, Robinson still speaks of her with deep love and gratitude.

"She was strong and she gave me strength," he said.

LEARNING TO LIVE AGAIN

Returning home after his one-year ordeal at KPH was not easy.

"I wondered how people were going to see me now that I couldn't walk," he said.

The emotional wounds were often as painful as the physical ones. For a time, he isolated himself and struggled with embarrassment and uncertainty.

Yet little by little, he adapted.

Instead of living a life of despair, Robinson stopped feeling sorry for himself and began mastering the practical realities of life as a paraplegic.

Today, he lives independently in Clarendon and performs many daily tasks using his wheelchair. He travels around town by taxi, sells copies of a book he authored in May Pen and maintains a remarkable level of self-sufficiency.

"Once you can accept your situation, you will have a better chance of survival," he said.

"It's not easy to accept. It's a learning process."

Those words have become a personal philosophy that guides his life.

Determined to inspire others, Robinson penned his autobiography, True Pain: A Real Life Story. The book is available for purchase on Amazon and offers an unfiltered account of the shooting, his year-long hospitalization, the emotional devastation that followed and his eventual path toward healing.

"Persons buy this book and come back and buy it again," he said. "They say they must have it for keepsake."

Many readers tell him his story has changed the way they view their own lives and the challenges they face.

"They tell me, 'Kevin, when I feel down, I just draw for your book and realize I have nothing to complain about.'"

For countless readers, True Pain has become more than a memoir — it has become a source of encouragement.

Every Friday, Robinson commutes to May Pen to sell copies of his book. He admits he does not always make a sale, but he remains grateful.

"If I go out there and don't sell anything, I still give thanks the same way."

His optimism and positive outlook on life have become his signature.

His life continues to inspire others. His actions, and his refusal to surrender, serve as a reminder never to give up.

His story is a testament to the power of family, faith, perseverance and community. It is also a reminder that heroes do not always wear uniforms or stand on stages. Sometimes they operate from wheelchairs. Sometimes they write books. And sometimes they simply choose, day after day, to keep moving forward.

For Kevin Robinson, the bullets may have taken his mobility, but they never took his indomitable spirit.

Kevin Robinson can be reached at 876-421-1882.