While working at a nightclub, Agho was nearing the end of his shift when he and his co-workers noticed one of the patrons being belligerent and making threats. After the patron was convinced to leave, the patron came back later and got into an altercation with Agho’s female co-worker hitting her in the face. Agho detained him and again the patron left. However, as Agho escorted the last couple out of the club before closing, he heard gunshots ring out.
“I see that same guy get out of a car with a gun and I realize he’s shooting at us,” he recalls. “The woman dropped as I was holding her hand. It was kind of shocking. I didn't realize I was shot until maybe five or six seconds later. Her fiancé was leaning on me and I realized he was shot too. I'm looking around, and that's when I see the guy coming back and he begins to shoot more rounds. After crawling into the club and waiting for medical assistance, I remember asking my co-workers to call my family and tell them I love them.”
Agho woke up in Ben Taub Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) a few days later. He was shot three times and was told that he lost a lot of blood and eventually became septic due to the injury to his liver. He had a damaged bile duct, a collapsed lung and one of the gunshots pierced his left shin. In his recovery, Agho had to begin seeing a pulmonologist, liver specialist and a gastrointestinal general surgery specialist.
He had to have an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) — a 30–90 minute, minimally invasive procedure combining endoscopy and X-ray to diagnose and treat bile/pancreatic duct problems. He also needed to have a stent put in due to the liver damage.
“I think I was in the hospital about a week and a half,” he says. “I was in the ICU about a week.”
After being released, Agho was hospitalized again a few times due to infections because of the severity and nature of injured organs.
“All the nurses were great,” he exclaims. “They expressed to me that every now and then I’ll still feel some pain, but it's to be expected because I went through some significant surgeries.”
Agho says he misses being more physically active after coaching martial arts for the past 13 years.
“I choose to stay positive because overcoming what I went through is not for the weak,” he says. “That’s why I give so much credit to my doctors, nurses, cafeteria staff, nutrition — everyone in the hospital. I wouldn't have made the positive turn around without them. Ben Taub truly is the best. They provide the best care.”