Seven weeks after experiencing a near-death experience on I-95, Holden Amory is back on stage performing to raise money for the victims of the Orlando mass shooting.
If it wasn't for the scar stretched across the right side of his face, you would never know of the traumatic experience he endured.
"It was out of my power that that piece of metal hit me in my face, but what's not out of my power is how I react to it," said Amory.
While Amory was driving on I-95 in April a piece of metal came through the windshield hitting him i the face. Any higher or lower, it could have killed him. The incident put a hold on the 22-year-old's career, but he knew it wouldn't stop him.
"From the second I got home I was trying to sing and work on my face to get it back because believe it or not it's pretty hard to sing when half of your face doesn’t work," said Amory who jokingly kept referring to his scar as a flesh-wound, a little scratch, no big deal.
He chose to return to the stage on Friday night for a good cause. The open mic night at Harold's Coffee Lounge raised funds for non-profit organizations helping victims of the Pulse Shooting.
“To be able to jump back into it, kind of help raise some money again is once again a giant blessing. The massacre up there was incredibly, I don’t even know how to speak about it, my heart just goes out to those victims," added Amory.
Amory says he received so much support after he was hurt. Now it's time give it back. He hopes the survivors of the shooting and the victims' families can find some light at the end of a dark and horrifying situation.
"There's really like two paths you can go down when trauma happens and that's resiliency or that's depression and darkness and I personally chose resiliency," said Amory.
A total of $200 was raised. Amory is matching that, bringing the total to $400. Harold's Coffee Lounge will continue to accept donations online. People will be able to decide which organization helping the victims the funds will go to by voting on the Coffee Lounge's Facebook page.
