David Ortiz Details Moments After Shooting: 'I Went Through Hell'

Ortiz suffered a life-threatening bacterial infection a month after being shot in the Dominican Republic.

Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz detailed the moments after he was shot in the Dominican Republic during an interview with the Boston Globe's Bob Hohler on Saturday.

Ortiz was shot in his home country on June 9 as he sat with friends in a Santo Domingo nightclub. The 43-year-old survived the shooting and was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital on June 10.

“Please don’t let me die. I have four children," Ortiz reportedly told the hospital staff as he was rolled into surgery. "I want to be with them."

Ortiz suffered another health scare nearly a month after the shooting. He was diagnosed with a bacterial infection, one that became "life-threatening," per Holer. 

“I felt that if I didn’t die, then I would never be the same again,’’ Ortiz said. “I went through hell with that.’’

Ortiz hired a firm headed by an ex-Boston police commissioner to spearhead an investigation into the shooting on Aug. 26. Sports Illustrated's Danny Gold found few answers for the case but raised plenty more questions when he took a trip to the island.

Ortiz recovered through June and July, and he threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox's matchup with the Yankees on Sept. 9. It looks as though Big Papi is back to his regular self.