Six years ago, Ballwin police officer Mike Flamion stopped someone for a routine traffic violation. That traffic stop ended up changing his entire life.
Flamion stopped a driver for speeding, and talked with him at his car. When he turned to walk toward his car to get some paperwork, the suspect ran toward him and fired three shots. He was hit in the neck, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down.
The road to recovery looked long. But now, six years later, Flamion has made great strides with his wife Sarah Flamion by his side.
On Thursday, the anniversary of his shooting, Flamion and his wife won't mourn; they'll celebrate what they call his "alive day."
KMOX's Brian Kelly stopped by Mike Flamion's house last week to talk with him about what his life has been like since the incident, and what this anniversary means to him.
"It's a pretty important day for us, knowing the extent of my injuries on that day, and that I was able to come out of it the way I did," Mike Flamion told KMOX. "I could have come out a lot worse off."
To celebrate, he said he will get together with the guys at the police department and some of his family members, to celebrate that he's still here -- and, he said, that he's still able to annoy everybody.
One reason he continues to enjoy life is his wife Sarah Flamion, who he calls his rock.
"She helps push me along on days that maybe I need a little extra boost -- she's right there," he said. "She just is so upbeat so positive all the time it's hard not to be happy when she's around."
Sarah Flamion said the two of them make a great team.
"Just knowing that I can be there to push him along when he needs it, and he does the same for me," she said.
So as Mike and Sarah Flamion celebrate his alive day, Mike had a message to share.
"I want everybody to know, just because life goes a completely different direction than you expected, sometimes a lot of good things come from it."
