"She's getting out of here alive," Las Vegas shooting survivor tells her harrowing tale
Sanger native Jessica Milam and a co-worker at Disneyland had just made plans for leaving the concert before Jason Aldean started singing the song when the shots started raining down on the crowd.
Destene Albers says they saw people around them getting hit and she grabbed Jessica around the neck to possibly protect her from a bullet to the neck. A little while later, Jessica got hit.
The Desert Springs Hospital is treating more than 100 survivors of the rampage and one of them is a Sanger native. Jessica Milam made it there because of a friend who surprised herself with her own strength.
For Sanger High School graduate Jessica Milam, the Disneyland badge is a point of pride. Her Facebook page is filled with photos of her at the park, enjoying the scenery or hard at work. But it was a different picture Ed Milam saw when he got his first look at his daughter after the Las Vegas rampage.
"She's got the oxygen in her nose and IVs and really pale and that's a tough thing to walk in and see," said Ed Milam, Sanger.
Milam knew his daughter was one of the lucky victims. She one of the 500-plus who survived being hit by the shooter's bullets. She made it, thanks in large part to a fellow Disney Cast Member.
"We thought, 'okay maybe they have fireworks,' and then we saw people dropping," said Destene Albers.
Destene tried to protect her friend as soon as she realized what was happening. But she had no idea how it would end.
As they tried to escape, Jessica took a bullet to the abdomen. It hit her liver and she needed a blood transfusion Tuesday, but her dad says her physical outlook is hopeful, mostly because of how Destene handled the next few minutes.
Bit by bit, she dragged Jessica away from the concert venue each time the barrage of bullets went silent, getting help from strangers, including one who had a pickup truck and drove several victims to the hospital.
"She's screaming, crying in pain and saying it hurts. And I told her 'I'm gonna get you out of here, I'm gonna get you out of here no matter what it takes," said Destene.
She shook off the suggestion that she's a hero, and said she was surprised at her own strength.
"I thought I was gonna run for the hills and never look back," said Destene, "And as soon as I felt that shot go through her, I was like 'I'm not leaving her. She's getting out of here alive."
Destene is standing strong in the face of the man who tried to terrorize the people who just came to have a good time at a country music festival.
"I'm not going to allow one man to ruin my life," Destene said, "I'm not going to let him stop me from living my life. But I'm the dictator of my life, not him."
Less than an hour after the shooting, Jessica's father and Sanger resident Ed Milam and his family got the terrible news. His daughter was one of nearly 600 victims.
"I mean it's about the worst thing that could possibly happen as a parent other than the fact that thank God I didn't come here to claim a body," said Ed Milam, Jessica's father.
Jessica Milam, 23, is a Disney lover since early in life. She works at Disneyland, among the characters and fairy tales. Her own survival story had a few heroes, including a Destene Albers, who Ed barely knew until this week.
"I'm extremely thankful to her and I'm extremely proud of Jessica, for sure," said Ed.
The Milam family is at the hospital and they have no idea how long Jessica will have to stay. They said they will be there with her until she can go home to Sanger.
