ARLINGTON, Texas — Comal County sheriff's deputy Eddy Luna, who lost his arm in a 2020 shooting, threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers game on Sunday.
It was First Responders Appreciation Day at the ballpark, and the Peace Officers' Angels Foundation captured the moment. Luna was all smiles with his friends and family, and got a warm ovation from the crowd as he walked onto the field.
Before the game, Luna expressed his excitement in a Facebook post.
"I need some practice since I have to throw with my left arm! Too bad my bionic right arm isn't ready to make a debut yet," he said.
Luna is still adjusting to his altered life after the shooting, but he remains positive.
"The way I see it, I am missing part of my right arm, but I am here," he told KENS 5 in 2021.
Luna was serving a warrant alongside his brother Rene, who was his partner on the force, when a close-range shotgun blast nearly severed his arm. Rene applied a tourniquet at the scene. He was taken to a San Antonio hospital where he underwent 13 surgeries. Doctors had to amputate nearly his entire right arm.
Luna's son Daniel is also a CCSO deputy, and said his father and uncle were heroes.
"If my dad hadn't called him, he probably wouldn't be here," Daniel said. "He is just glad he (Rene) was there and that we able to perform everything that we have been taught, so he could save my dad's life."
Luna finally got home 26 days after the shooting. He's been working on his recovery since, and now has a prosthetic arm.