One night after an evening out with friends, Kristi Johnson’s, RPR, life changed forever. She didn’t know it yet, but she would eventually learn a hard-won lesson: What defines us is not what we do when things are easy. What shows our core is what we do when things are hardest.
At the 2025 NCRA Conference & Expo premier session, Johnson, an official court reporter from Rancho St. Margarita, Calif. shared the harrowing story of how she was accidentally shot by one of her friends. She also spoke about how the road to her recovery revealed life lessons that she carries with her to this day.
Johnson, a single mom who had recently moved in with her mother, was in community college taking classes. “I was just struggling,” she said.
One night Johnson and a friend had a free evening and a babysitter, so decided to go out for drinks. At the end of the evening, Johnson accepted a ride from her friends, Dave and Kyle, who were both police officers. Before being taken home, they stopped at a friend’s place, visiting her outside in her driveway. What happened next is something Johnson says she still does not understand. Kyle took out his gun, which had the safety turned off, and accidentally shot her. Stunned and unsure of what had happened, Johnson said the next thing she remembered was an insanely sharp pain.
After being rushed to the ER and then into emergency surgery, the doctors told Johnson that the bullet had gone through her back, hit her spine, and most of her major organs. It exited her body and then reentered her leg. She was told that she would be paralyzed and never walk again. Her doctors also told her she would never be able to work again and would have to rely on others.
Johnson’s long journey to recovery had begun. At the rehabilitation hospital, Johnson met a quadriplegic man named Mike who became one of her confidants and offered advice on how to live her new life.
“Your injury is a fork in the road. You can go left and the injury wins. You can go right and everything you dreamt of before you can still do, but it won’t be easy,” said Mike. “You’re going to have to learn to live again. The only person who can choose which way you go is you.”
Johnson spoke at length of how she was unable to take care of her young son. Indeed, her recovery needed her entire family, who had put their lives on hold to assist with her recovery.
“I had gone from being fiercely independent to 100 percent reliant. I felt like such a burden,” said Johnson. “If you think not walking was the most difficult thing about this injury, you’d be wrong. What was hard was my inability to be a mom.”
Many dark and angry days would follow, but what soon became most clear is that she needed to make a change. “I needed income,” said Johnson.
After a deposition involving her shooter, Johnson looked over to the court reporter and had an epiphany: This was something she could do in her wheelchair.
“I went home that day and started the process of applying to court reporting school,” she said.
In April 1999 she began her court reporting program. In 2002 Johnson received her license and has enjoyed an illustrious career ever since. She is currently an official reporter with Orange County Superior Court in California.
“This isn’t a job. This is a path forward for me,” said Johnson.
Her experience is a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience of the human spirit and that, even in the face of tragedy, we are all capable of finding within ourselves the tools needed to overcome and thrive.
In her closing remarks, Johnson offered attendees some sage advice: It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.
Kristi Johnson, RPR, is an official reporter from Rancho St. Margarita, Calif. She can be reached at JohnsonCourtReporter@gmail.com.
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