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Journey of a Bullet: Survivors Describe What Happens After They Were Shot

A police officer and Army sniper opened up about their experiences being wounded in the line of duty

Bullets often carve a fatal path: About 36,000 Americans were killed by a firearm in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but nearly 85,000 gunshot victims treated in emergency rooms survived.

NBC News spoke to six people about how surviving a gunshot wound has changed their lives. Sara Cusimano was shot when she was kidnapped and raped at 13. Today, she continues to struggle with PTSD: "That millisecond decision that he made destroyed the entire rest of my life."

A police officer and Army sniper opened up about their experiences being wounded in the line of duty.

NBC News also spoke to a woman who survived an attack by her husband and a man who was shot by a robber, as well as a man who was accidentally shot by his friend as a boy.

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