Mother’s Day extra special this year for Renee Robinson

Renee Robinson cheers on her son, Drew, during his first at-bat nearly 13 months after surviving a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a suicide attempt. Drew Robinson started for the Sacramento Rivercats. (Photo: W.G. Ramirez)

On Thursday May 6, Drew Robinson stepped on to the field at Las Vegas Ballpark, defying the greatest of odds, and accomplished what some might deem a miracle.

A little more than one year after surviving a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during a suicide attempt, Robinson opened the minor league season for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats by starting in right field and batting eighth.

It was the second-best Mother's Day gift Renee Robinson could have asked for.

"Last Mother's Day was pretty special too cause he was still with us and he was home from the hospital at that time," Renee Robinson said during a one-on-one interview from her seat, eight rows behind Sacramento's dugout along the third baseline. "But to see him out here in his element - it's surreal."

A decent crowd watching during a comfortable evening in Summerlin, the Las Vegas-native received a noticeably louder applause from those in attendance, obviously from fans who were familiar with his remarkable comeback from nearly losing his life.

"When I was running around the field, hearing the crowd, hearing my family, hearing everybody cheer me on, it hit me like a ton of bricks," Robinson told ESPN.com. "It felt so good to be out there. I'm so happy I was able to appreciate everything for what it was in the moment. That's something I wasn't able to do before the incident."

Nearly 13 months after surviving a suicide attempt with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Las Vegas-product Drew Robinson started for the Sacramento Rivercats in his hometown, against the Aviators. (Photo courtesy Las Vegas Aviators, Steve Spatafore)

The incident, for those unaware, took place on April 16, 2020. Robinson, filled with mental pain and suffering from depression, shot himself in the head. His miraculous recovery came through more than a year of rehabilitation. And though he lost his right eye, he proved himself to the San Francisco Giants organization, that he still had what it took to play the game he grew up enjoying in Southern Nevada.

Now he is one step shy of the bigs.

"It's brought us all closer," Renee Robinson said during the bottom of the first inning, while her son was in right field. "We're all dealing with our individual demons. He just opened the floodgates of mental health in our own home. It's phenomenal."

Renee Robinson said her family has held so many get-togethers since the incident, which has been top priority for Drew, having his family together.

She also said family members have normalized counseling, and not solely to heal from her son's incident, but to acknowledge and address their own mental health issues they never understood existed.

"Take care of your mental health, first of all," she said. "Reach out to all your loved ones and check on them and love your family. Be there for them.”

The past year, she said, has certainly helped bring her family together during times they might not otherwise turn to one another, helping cousins and siblings, while strangers have reached out from unexpected places just to talk to him.

One of the first responders who arrived at the house after Robinson shot himself told Renee he was profoundly moved, and his life had changed ever since that night.

"To be able to actually say that I'm gonna be going through different times of doubting myself again and having times of thinking it's not possible just because of the one-eye situation, to finally be able to say it's happening and I'm gonna be able to play professional baseball again - it's just powerful," Drew Robinson told one local television affiliate. "I get to play baseball again in front of everyone that's been a part of this, that's supported me, that's helped me, it's just special."

Indeed, especially for his No. 1 fan, the person who bonded with him nine months before anybody else, and who nurtured him as only a mother can.

"To bring awareness to mental illness has been powerful," Renee Robinson said, holding back her emotions after watching her son bat for the first time. "It just blows my mind he's able to do this with one eye. It is just, it's a miracle. It's an absolute miracle. So Blessed to still have him."