CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, MI - A Charlevoix man died last week after he was shot in what police called a "very rare" firearm accident at an apartment in Charlevoix.
Gregory Van Stedum died Saturday, April 14, at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey.
Van Stedum, who family members said experienced a miraculous recovery from a painful nervous system disorder several years ago, was 36 at the time of his death.
Police said the accident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. at an apartment on May Street. A friend of Van Stedum's brought a newly purchased .45 caliber handgun to the apartment to show it off.
Charlevoix Police Chief Gerard Doan said the gun owner unloaded the firearm and handed it to his friend. When he got it back, he put the magazine in, pulled the slide back and let it go.
"Somehow it went off and struck his friend," Doan said.
Van Stedum was shot in the side. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police called the shooting an accident and said the gun was legally owned. The case was forwarded by police to the county prosecutor's office to determine if charges would be filed as a result.
Emily Van Stedum said her husband will be remembered as a "caring, compassionate and gentle man" who put everyone around him in a good mood. She called him an "amazing dad" to their 1-year-old daughter, Violet.
"He was the love of my life," she said. "He touched a lot of people."
The couple met in high school and dated for almost 18 years.
At some point during the first half of their relationship, Greg Van Stedum was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome -- a progressive nervous system disease characterized by severe burning pain.
His wife said he was bedridden for seven years with hypersensitivity in his legs. Medical experts around the country weren't able to provide him much relief.
Then one day, shortly before his 30th birthday, his wife said she witnessed a miracle.
Greg Van Stedum's family laid their hands on him and prayed for his health, she recalled. Afterward, the pain subsided and he began a three-year process of physical therapy to eventually return to walking on his own.
"Doctors said he wouldn't be able to walk again," Emily Van Stedum said. "He was healed by God. He was the miracle man."
Greg Van Stedum was interested in military history, and enjoyed cooking, playing cards, "airsofting," deer hunting, shooting guns and having family outings in the backyard.
He was his daughter's primary caregiver while his wife went to school to become a nurse. She is now less than two weeks away from graduation.
"We're just in shock," Emily Van Stedum said. "I have moments where I just bawl my eyes out and the next I'm OK. He was my other half."
A funeral service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Center Point Assembly Church, 05291 M-66 in Charlevoix. A visitation will be held 4-8 p.m. Friday, April 20, at the Winchester Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.
In lieu of flowers, Van Stedum's family asks that memorial contributions be made to the "Violet and Emily VanStedum Fund" through Charlevoix State Bank. A GoFundMe account was been created by the family to raise funds to assist his wife and daughter.