BRANDON, Fla. — A mother of three shot in the head is still alive to tell her story.
She and her family are homeless and were shot at while sleeping in a car in Tampa. She spoke to 10 Tampa Bay's Angelina Salcedo exclusively after leaving the hospital.
"You won't always be strong enough to hold back tears," Vivian said.
Acker spent four weeks at Tampa General Hospital with her husband by her side. She still has a bullet lodged in her head despite being discharged. The family of 5 has been through more struggles in the last few weeks than you can imagine, but their faith is getting them through.
"It's a blessing for us to even be able to get our story out there," Demarian Acker said.
RELATED: 'You almost killed my family': Pregnant mother of 3 remains hospitalized after being shot inside car
A month ago the family's world completely changed. Bullets went flying overnight into the car where the couple and their kids were sleeping. Vivian was the only one hit.
"My daughter even said, 'Mommy you died! You came back! Then you came back," she just said that today," Vivian said.
A shot to the head kept her in the hospital separated from their kids.
"Every day we cried. One thing, I won't lie about is every day we cried. My husband was like, 'I have to keep touching everybody. I have to keep touching you to make sure that we're still here, like this isn't a dream or a nightmare. Like we're still alive! Our kids are still alive,'" Vivian said.
She's healed enough to be out of a hospital bed, but the bullet is still in her head. She goes through a lot of pain and is scheduled to get a Cat scan in early December.
The process to stay afloat hasn't been easy. The family is still homeless while Vivian focuses on healing, Demarian is trying to find a new job. The car they were in the night they were shot at was their survival.
"The way that everything is going right now, as far as like the prices and stuff, it is not easy to manage out here. Me, you know, trying to take the stress off her and trying to do it on my own, it is hard," Demarian said.
The support from people in the community has helped them survive, but they still want a place to call their forever home.
"Prayer keeps us going. That and those babies you see running around. I don't know where I would be if God didn't save them," Vivian said.
Pregnant with her fourth on the way, she says she isn't a victim, she's a survivor.
"I'm going to believe that there's a win coming for us and there's a victory. That this didn't just happen by chance, it happened for those babies to be seen and have a better life with their parents," Vivian said.
They continue pushing to provide for their family. If you or anyone you know would like to help them you can here.
Tampa Police have arrested someone in connection to this shooting. Christopher Stamat Jr., 21, has been charged with six felonies including attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into a vehicle.