Lol, he didn't "almost die" by any accounts I had heard. He was also older than dirt and took a shot to the face, lmao.
That is a terrible example to use when promoting shotguns for defense.
Try a heart attack caused by some of the over 200 pellets lodged close to his heart and a collapsed lung. Granted he was old but I don't think that was as large of a factor.
Now factor in that this was caused with a 28 gauge. This is far from what most use in HD situations because of the lower velocity and lower density of shot in each round.