After a suicide attempt, Drew Robinson has returned to the baseball field, hitting his first home run.
Approximately 13 months ago, the 29-year-old lost his right eye while attempting to commit suicide. When he woke up, he realized he was still alive and immediately called 911.
Robinson returned to baseball, with just one eye, in a game against the Las Vegas Aviators in Sacramento. The River Cats outfielder hit a solo home run, helping his team to a 10-7 win.
Robinson told ESPN, “It felt so good to be out there. I’m so happy to appreciate everything for what it was in the moment. That’s something I wasn’t able to do before the incident.”
Baseball didn’t come to Robinson as easily as it did before. When Drew came back home from the hospital, adjusting to a life without his right eye was difficult. Even doing simple things like filling up a cup of water was difficult.
Earlier in February Robinson shared his story with the public, with the help of reporter Jeff Passan. According to the report, “Robinson’s suicide attempt wasn’t a snap decision.” The baseball player struggled with his mental health for years, and “his help-seeking efforts didn’t alleviate his depression and suicidal ideation.”
“On March 30, Robinson picked up a handgun from a local store. 16 days later, he decided to go through with it.”
During his recovery, Robinson rediscovered the will to live, and kept his passion for baseball. He says he hopes his story will inspire someone else to keep going.
“I’m just proof that if you focus on the right perspectives and you focus on the right things, you’ll see hints of pure joy for life,” he told ESPN. “No matter how bad things seem at that time, it’s not as important as the next day, the next minute, of making that change to help yourself.”
