
44 | Fourteen Bullets
From Alive Again by iHeartPodcasts
February 24, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 1 · Episode 44
About this episode
Derrick McManus shares his harrowing experience of being shot 14 times and the journey of recovery and resilience that followed.
On May 5, 1994, South Australian police officer Derrick McManus was shot 14 times in under five seconds and left bleeding on the ground for nearly three hours while a 40-hour siege raged around him. In this raw conversation, Derrick reconstructs those first seconds, the long climb through surgeries and rehab (including a steel plate in his forearm), and the mental frameworks that kept him calm when survival looked impossible. We talk suffering, meaning, and mortality—and what his ordeal ultimately took, gave, and taught him about human durability. Story Producer: Dan Bush If you have a transformative near-death experience to share, we’d love to hear your story! Please email us at aliveagainproject@gmail.com We’d love to hear your story! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Guest: Derrick McManus
Topics covered
- survival
- suffering
- rehabilitation
- human durability
- near-death experience
- mental frameworks
Keywords
- Derrick McManus
- survival
- rehab
- suffering
- human durability
- near-death experience
- mental frameworks
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: iHeartPodcasts
More episodes of Alive Again
- 45 | Overtime: A Conversation With Dr. David Fajgenbaum · March 3, 2026 · 1h 12m
- 43 | Rip · February 17, 2026 · 56 min
- 42 | Extraordinary Awakening: A Conversation with Filmmaker Jonas Elrod · February 10, 2026 · 1h 30m
- 41 | Angel Falls · February 3, 2026 · 37 min
- 40 | The Bondage of Self · January 27, 2026 · 39 min
- 39 | Maybe It Saved My Life · January 20, 2026 · 49 min
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