A Las Vegas victim shot in the leg fought through pain to stand up for President Trump

A man who was shot in the leg during the Las Vegas mass shooting fought the pain to stand and shake the hand of the president and the first lady at the hospital.

In a video posted to his Facebook account, first lady Melania Trump repeatedly told Thomas Gunderson not to stand up from his hospital bed to greet her when she walked into the room.

Though Gunderson sat down for a few seconds as he spoke with the first lady and waited for President Donald Trump, he quickly stood back up when Trump walked into the room.

He later captioned the video he posted to Facebook that he would “never lie down when the president of this great country comes to shake my hand.”

“There may be plenty of issues in this country but I will always respect my country, my president and my flag,” Gunderson said. “Shot in the leg or not, I will stand to show my president the respect he deserves!”

Gunderson later told KVVU-TV, a Las Vegas TV station, that he had told his family he would stand to shake the president’s hand because he wanted to show respect. He also told the station that he was injured while running toward the gunfire in search of the gunman in hopes of stopping him.

“He was just honestly thanking me and, you know, just here for me,” Gunderson told KVVU of the president. “He wanted to listen to me. He really did.”

Gunderson also said that Trump told him, “if you need anything at all, I’m here, you just let us know. I’m here to take care of you.” He also said the first lady “was just so incredible and so sweet. It was just so honoring.”