Barry Wilkerson, who was battling severe depression and suicidal thoughts, decided he was going to take his own life.

He traveled to his mother's home in Grayson County to say his last goodbye's. He told his mom, Paula Sims, that he loved her and that he was going to commit suicide.

"I was ready to end my life, and that was that." Wilkerson told 13 News.

Sims begged her son to stop as he ran out the door of the home, locking himself in his vehicle. He began to slit his wrists with a blade he had in his truck.

Sims followed behind but was too late to keep him from locking the door. She reacted by firing two shots through the passenger window of Wilkerson's truck, striking him in the shoulder and through the hand into the leg.

Wilkerson recalled his mom's words, "She told me she was going to shoot me if I didn't stop, and she superficially wounded me from hurting myself any further."

Unable to hold the knife, Wilkerson fled to a nearby church parking lot where his initial plan was to bleed until he died. But he prayed and says that God gave him the strength to get through the obstacle he encountered.

He drove himself to Twin Lake's Hospital in Leitchfield before being transferred to UofL Hospital, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries. He returned home on Saturday evening.

The gunshot wounds serve as a reminder, that his mother was willing to do whatever it took to keep her son. Her actions, pure love.

Wilkerson said, "If she didn't love me the way she did, she would've never pulled that trigger."

Barry and his mom, Paula, have had limited communication since the incident last Friday, but his love for his her is stronger than ever. Wilkerson saying that if there was one thing he could tell her, it would be this: "Momma, I love you more than anything. Only God above knows how much I love you. Thank you for being my mom."

Barry Wilkerson was battling severe depression at the time he tried to take his own life. He recalls not being honest with his doctor at times. He is urging those who struggle with similar situations to call their doctor immediately and seek medical guidance.