AURORA - Ryan Lumba will always have reminders of what happened July 20.
"This is just a big signing card for when I was in the hospital for three months," he said. "I'm really thankful to the community and the people helping me out."
The 18-year-old was in theater 9. 9NEWS caught up with Lumba during his spring break.
"I got shot in the abdominal, from lung to waist down with a shot gun," he said. "Apparently, [the gun] made 18 holes on my side. I can't really stretch as much. I can't really jump like I used to. I want to get back in shape."
But those reminders don't seem to bother Lumba too much.
"I want to move forward, not just move on," he said.
Eight months since being seriously injured, Ryan is not looking back.
"Even though it was a tragedy, it was kind of a silver lining for me. I'm becoming a better person than I was," he said.
A better friend, a better son.
"I just cherish like the little things more," Ryan said.
He doesn't dwell on what happened that night, or on where the court process is. The district attorney's office asked him what he'd like to have happen.
"[James Holmes] did do something horrific. He did something I would say evil. But the death penalty, that would take lots of time. How I see it, a lot of people involved in the community in Aurora are just trying to get over it. A life sentence will be a little easier on everybody else including myself," he said.
Time can heal if we let it. Ryan Lumba seems to have figured that out.
"[The shooting] helped me see things a little bit differently, and I think that's a positive for me and my family," he said.
Ryan says an Aurora police officer saved his life by taking him to University of Colorado Hospital.
He doesn't know who the officer is. 9NEWS took his picture and sent it APD hoping they'll connect them.
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