Chicago mom shot during home invasion: 'I'm stilll standing'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago woman who was shot in the chest during a violent home invasion is speaking about that night and her recovery.

It's been two weeks since Eryca was shot in the chest, and she said the bullet wound still burns.

"When I woke up, I woke up with a tube in my throat," she said.

On the afternoon of May 5, Eryca answered a knock at the door of a home in the 5900-block of S. Kenneth Avenue. She said three men were on the other side. One with a gun fired a shot when she slammed the door.

"I felt the shot but I didn't feel the shot. And I looked down and I started to feel like the warmness of my blood. So I took my shirt off immediately and started applying pressure to chest," Eryca said. "I screamed thinking these guys are trying to slaughter me and when I screamed the other guy was like, 'Let's get the heck out of here.'"

Doctors at Advocate Christ Medical Center removed the bullet, which pierced her lung.

The 26-year old single mother is focusing on her 2-year-old daughter to help with her recovery.

"The more I kept saying, 'You got this, you got this, you're alive,' I started speaking more, moving more," she said.

Eryca is only using her first name out of fear of further violence. The suspects are still at large. She doesn't know who they are and why she was shot.

"They've seen my face as well as I've seen theirs," she said. "And honestly if they're watching or if they're seeing I want to show them they didn't hurt me. You did what you did but I'm a strong woman, and I'm still standing."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help offset cost of Eryca's medical expenses.