Oakland boy who accidentally shot himself on remarkable road to recovery

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Four-year-old Na'Vaun Jackson is home from the hospital and with his mother.

"He's a miracle baby," Jackson's mother, Brijjanna Price said from their home in Oakland.

She says the miracle is that Jackson is well on the road to recovery from a gunshot wound to his head less than three months ago.

Last March, Jackson and his mother were visiting her now ex-boyfriend in Oakland. He was in a bedroom while everyone else was watching tv in the living room.

Then there was a gunshot.

"We were looking out the window. That's when we realized Na'Vaun wasn't around," said Price.

Jackson's mother ran into the bedroom.

"It looked like he was breathing. He was asleep," Price recalled.

Jackson found a loaded gun under a pillow that belonged to the ex-boyfriend Terrence Wilson and shot himself in the head.

"I didn't know he had it in the house," his mother said.

She called 911 who told her to apply pressure on the wound until the ambulance arrived. 

"As I applied pressure I asked my son why did you do this," Price said. "He grabbed my arm and tried to lift his body up. I laid him on his side. In this type of situation, you can't panic. Because anything can happen. This is my baby. And if I panicked he'd panic and could die. I couldn't have that."

At first, Price said doctors told her, Jackson wasn't going to survive or he'd be a vegetable.

But almost three months later, he's doing well and hanging out with his puppy named Thomas.

"There's nothing wrong with him. His attitude, his mouth, everything is the same," Price said.

But not quite everything.

Doctors had to temporarily remove part of Jackson's skull to relieve pressure. That's why he wears a helmet.

He also isn't walking. But Price says he's not paralyzed.

"All his limbs work. But it is a brain injury so it all has to be restarted. He has to do everything from scratch again. It's going to take time," she said.

As for Terrence Wilson, he faces three felony charges including child abuse and being an ex-felon with a gun. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

However, Jackson and his mother are looking ahead, not back. 
Price said he'll start preschool in the fall. 
She said she wants her son to understand that he is a fighter saying, "Just because a tragic accident happened you are still going to do everything you are supposed to do. You are normal." 

The family is seeking help with his recovery and more information can be found here.