COLUMBUS, Ohio — Eight minutes. That’s how long 30-year-old Jordan Hardgrow says his heart stopped beating, how close he came to death earlier this year.
“I had two stab wounds to the heart. He got me in both my lungs. They had to take out a bit of my intestines,” Jordan told 10TV.
He was violently assaulted on Jan. 16 while living in San Diego, California.
“I don’t take any second, or any minute for granted,” he said.
Jordan was stabbed in the chest and stomach more than 20 times. At the hospital, he flatlined for about eight minutes until the doctors massaging his heart were able to get it beating again.
Jordan, a former personal trainer, says he knows he’s blessed and that being in good physical and mental condition also helped him live through what happened.
His mother, Michele Hardgrow, says God was looking over her son and prayers were answered.
“When they say life is short and you need to enjoy everything about it, I can appreciate that,” she said. “Life can be so short and can be taken away from you in a moment’s notice and for no reason.”
Witnesses told police a man was following Jordan and began verbally harassing him. When Jordan turned around to confront the man, a fistfight broke out. That’s when the man pulled out a knife and stabbed Jordan repeatedly.
Jordan didn’t know his assailant and still doesn’t know why the man chose him that night. While knowing the reason would give him closure, Jordan says it will not change what happened to him.
“Even if I were to know, I still have to deal with all the scars. I still have to deal with the numbness that I feel all the time. I still have things I have to focus on. It’s closure and I guess that would be useful. That would help close the door, but I can’t wait for that door close. I got to move on,” he said.
Jordan would later face his attacker, 20-year-old Pierce Tostada, in court.
“It was pretty tough,” he recalled. “No matter what, that event connects both of us.”
Tostada pleaded guilty to the attack and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.
After 26 surgeries, Jordan is growing stronger each day but still has some recovering to do, and he’s sharing that journey on TikTok. His first video went viral and now has more than a million views.
“I think it inspires people. I want them to realize that things could be worse and the hardest thing to do is to be positive,” Jordan said. “It’s so much easier to be negative and hate the world for everything that happened.”
Michele said her son chose peace over war and for that she is thankful.
“Anyone in this situation could be so angry, so volatile and harm themselves even more. But not Jordan. He has his moments, but he stays positive, and we all have to forgive to be able to move forward,” she said.
Jordan has decided to change career paths. This experience has only solidified his desire to do good in the world.
He moved back to Columbus to be with family and he’s back in school.
Jordan is studying to become a nurse, like his mother, and the people who helped save his life in San Francisco. He will begin the Bachelor of Nursing program at Xavier University in May 2022.