By Rebecca Jones
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Sixteen-year-old Columbine High School shooting victim Lance Kirklin walked into a news conference Friday to announce to the world, "I feel great."

Lance has been at Denver Health Medical Center since April 20, when he was shot five times, including a shotgun blast that destroyed much of the lower left side of his face.

He has undergone nearly 30 hours of surgery for wounds on his face, leg and chest. Repairing his jaw will take possibly six more surgeries. But doctors call his recovery "amazing" and predict he will be able to go home within a week.

"Lance is a uniquely courageous man," said Dr. Ernest Moore, chief of surgery and trauma services at the hospital.

He still speaks with difficulty, sometimes touching the bandage over the hole surgeons opened in his throat to help him breath, but doctors say they expect him to regain full speaking ability.

Lance asked for the press conference because he wants the community to know he's feeling fine and he wants to encourage the other Columbine students who remain hospitalized.

On the morning of the shooting, he was leaving the cafeteria to go outside for a cigarette, followed by his friends Dan Rohrbough and Sean Graves, when he was hit. They were among the first to be shot. Dan did not survive. Sean remains at Craig Hospital, partially paralyzed.

"At first, I thought it was a senior prank," Lance said.

He said he did not know the shooters, and he remembers seeing only their shadows. He says he was about 50 feet from them when he was hit. Afterward, he said, he remained fully conscious for about 10 minutes, then slipped in and out of consciousness until rescuers reached him.

In addition to the shotgun wound in his face, Kirklin's left thigh bone was shattered by a bullet. He also sustained bullet wounds in his right chest, his right groin and left foot. Doctors sayhe was shot by three guns.

One of the pellets from the shotgun blast has migrated into his heart, and two remain in his lungs, but doctors don't believe they pose a risk.

"His sheer survival is a miracle in itself," said Dr. Stephen Batuello, a surgeon who oversaw the reconstruction of Lance's face. Doctors took some bone and tissue from his leg to rebuild his jaw.

A hospital spokeswoman says Lance's medical bills are now close to $1 million, but thanks to widespread donations, she doesn't expect the Kirklin family will be forced to pay any of that.

He continues to be fed through a gastric tube, but he's anxiously awaiting the day -- which may come in about two weeks -- when he can swallow normally. "I want a drink," he said. "Apple juice."

Flanked by his parents, Dawn and Mike Kirklin, Lance described his typical day: Nurses change the bandages on his face early in the morning, then he spends time with his family and visitors, then he heads to grueling physical therapy session twice a day. In the late afternoon and evening, he sees more visitors.

His father offered thanks for all the love and support the family has received.

"I hope this tragedy can get the world to focus on love and family," Mike Kirklin said. "Get to know your kids, and what they're doing," he urged parents.