Dealing with a low body, How does one survive? Options

[Seidaku]

Well, as my first and only character has recently crossed over to the other side, I've decided to play a decidedly different sort. My first character was a heavy-cyber minotaur, with a modified body of 17. My new character is a shaman with a body of 4. Well, at least, that's the current plan. However, based on just a few simple tests, it seems unlikely that the new character will be able to survive if an enemy is *ever* given the chance to shoot at him. I'm at a loss as to how to proceed. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if I roll ALL successes, I could only stage the damage down by two levels. Given that my armor is not as 'uber' as my previous character's, rolling all successes isn't very likely, either.)

Clearly, I cannot be the only person ever to have a character with a body score of less than the absolute maximum possible. Surely those who have done so before have survived (at least for a little while), and I'm interested in knowing how.

I understand that combat is supposed to be lethal; that is part of the thrill, after all. But I cannot fathom how it is even possible for low-body characters to go on runs, given that a single shot is apt to inflict deadly damage.

I also understand that, often times, when shots start flying, the run is already a failure. Sadly, as my group is composed mostly of newbies, we have many 'failures' according to that definition.

So, any suggestions? Could anyone relate previous experiences they've had?