Posted on 02/14/2006 9:25:07 AM PST by Mr. Brightside
First Doctor to Treat Cheney Victim Tells Texas Paper He Wanted to Send Him Home
By Joe Strupp
Published: February 14, 2006 12:05 PM ET
NEW YORK While news reports from The New York Times to the Austin American-Statesman have been describing the injuries to Harry Whittington, the victim of Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting, as more serious than first believed, as he remains hospitalized today, the tiny Alice [Texas] Echo-News Journal will offer a different version later today, E&P has learned.
According to the afternoon daily, located about 60 miles from the shooting site, the first doctor to treat Whittington immediately after the Saturday shooting contended that his wounds were superficial and not in need of further hospitalization.
"If it were just a normal citizen, he would have sent him home with antibiotics," said Ofelia Hunter, Echo-News Journal editor, who talked to the doctor. "He felt that it was more royal treatment that he was getting."
Hunter's comments referred to Dr. Raj Subnani, who treated Whittington at the Christus Spohn Hospital in Kingsville where he was first taken before being transferred to the Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial in Corpus Christi, where he remains.
Hunter, who plans to run a story about Subnani this afternoon, said she interviewed the doctor Monday. The editor, who is one of three newsroom staffers at the paper, indicated that the doctor was not in favor of transferring Whittington because he did not believe he required further hospitalization.
"He felt he was transferred because of his prominence, and that he was already stable," Hunter said. "It was more because of who he was." That is in marked contrast to reports in most major newspapers that Whittington required intensive care treatment, was hit with more than 100 pellets, and that some of the wounds were so severe the pellets could not be removed.
Hunter also reports that Subnani was upset that the Corpus Christi Hospital was being credited with treating Whittington. "More than anything because Corpus Christi staff is getting all of the attention and his staff did all of the work," Hunter said of Subnani. "Media outlets are giving them the credit."
The Echo-News Journal, which publishes every day except Saturday, did not get the early scoop that its neighbor, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, did. While the Caller-Times has been credited nationwide with breaking the shooting story online Sunday, Hunter said her first report on the shooting was an AP story in the Monday paper.
While she praised the Caller-Times for its work, Hunter also criticized officials for not revealing the news earlier to local journalists. "We should be able to get that information," she said. Hunter also said the Armstrong Ranch, where the shooting occurred, is known as a place where political heavyweights often visit, noting that Cheney comes down at least once a year. But she said there had been no similar incidents therr in the recent past.
This "heart attack" angle is just another phony made up bit of nonsense started by the media.
I'd like to know the media's sources for these cockeyed fairy tales.
This is soooo much ado about nothing.
The man was peppered with shot from a 28-guage shotgun at 30 yards. That's a very small gun for bird hunting. I would never go with anything smaller than a 16-guage and usually a 12-guage.
"Whittington required intensive care treatment, was hit with more than 100 pellets, and that some of the wounds were so severe the pellets could not be removed."
That statement is pure unadulterate CRAP. Normal shot size for quail hunting is 7 or 8. In a 12 guage shell there might be 40 pellets. In a 28 guage there would be far fewer.
While dove hunting in West Texas as a youth I was regularly peppered. It happens. It stings. It might even break the skin where the skin is uncovered. At worst, those pellets would bubble back up to the surface in a week or two -- much like a splinter. Normally, Dad would dig them out with his pocket knife and pour some alcohol on the spot. If it was a real bad boo-boo, or if Mama was afraid we would bleed on our school shirts, we might get a bandaid. We would have never considered seeking anymore medical attention than that.
I have no doubt that Mr Whittington has been peppered many a time in his life. And I would hazard a guess that some of those incidents involved much larger bore guns than the VP's 28 guage. I doubt seriously if he was ever hospitalized for such before this incident.
This is purely the personification of those TV commercials where the hospital patient gets extensive care because "this man has money coming out the wazoo."
The administrators saw the VP motorcade in the parking lot and the Veep was probably standing outside the ER door saying, "this is my fault, make sure all the bills get sent to my office."
Girls, quick, fire up the BIG cash register for this one.
This "Illegal Hunting" stuff is mostly BS. They were hunting on private property, not public lands. He had a hunting license, he needed a quail stamp, he got one, case closed!
I didn't bother to count the number of times the article mentions it, but most of the text is spent on how the newsies were clattering over who heard what when and why didn't we get this first, or faster.
IOW, the media is exploding over ... nothing.
You'd have thought Dick Cheney shot a reporter.
They are milking this big time at the Hospital.
The family is now upset. They just ran a report to the press that he has had a heart attack.
ACTUALLY, WHAT HE HAD WAS A FIB caused by pellet pressure.
When pushed further on it...Dr. Presshound sort of backed off.
Just so happens I was at a heart associaton function when they ran the report.
A Dr. sitting with me said he would never call that a heart attack. Pointed out how pulse change can be attributed to much more credited causes.
He said that if a patient has not indication of it.....it is wiser to check for other causes.
Now it appears that he is back in ICU because of a heart attack...seems like VP Cheney's emphasis was on the right place...get the guy to the hospital to make sure!
Of course, all the press can focus on is the that they weren't told right away! Instead, this shows that the focus was on the right place!
They are determined to make this worse - if not the 'the worst' of accidents.
"They have indeed gone berserk. "
Right...what they REALLY REALLY REALLY want to report SO BADLY is:
"Cheney Intentionally Fires on Hunting Companion While Drunk" or some other such drivel.
"Cheney Shoots and Kills Hunting Partner While Drunk".
I can see this coming out any day. Even though there isn't a shred of truth in it, the libnutmedia has gone stark raving mad. They keep insinuating and BS'ing and making the story up as they go along.
So he has a drink or two before, and he's an avid hunter... RUN WITH IT!
AMEN!!!
Good thing he didn't get sent home!
Considering the latest reports, the guy might have died!
Is this doctor a Dem or just plain incompetent?
"Hospitals are like car dealers. Once you drive into that bay they have to do enough work to cover their overhead."
Based on my experience this is NOT true. Most hospitals are more than anxious to kick you out ASAP.
More often than not, they discharge people too soon rather than too late. I'm in favor of discharging as early as possible, the hospital atmosphere isn't the best; but often they'll discharge to go home before any proper discharge plan for ongoing needed health care regimen has been established.
Obviously this guy was kept longer than you or I would have been. Two reasons, and only one is because he was shot by the V-P. The other is that he is a very high mucky-muck in political circles in TX in his own right. And rich.
And it is a good thing he was kept. It may not be, as some of you are claiming, a "REAL" heart attack. Maybe it was "just" the onset of atrial fibrillation like one of you said.
There is no good place for a 78 year old guy who has already suffered trauma to have atrial fibrillation; but a hospital is a better place than anywhere else. It was a good thing he was already there.
I have a 73 year old friend who had bypass surgery a couple of years ago who went into atrial fibrillation recently at home. Luckily, we got him to ER by that time he was racing at 240-300 BPM. Luckily it was before the current blizzard hit so we were able to move quickly; or I think he'd be dead.
Ron Reagan Jr. was the first to bring up the "drunk" connotation yesterday. In his most lubricious voice, he pondered: "Do we know that alcohol was not involved?"
Then he went on and on about "disclosure" regarding the hospital reports.
With all due respect to President Reagan's memory, nothing was "disclosed" about his Alzheimer's disease until many years after he had left office.
Right...the libnuts are just dying to report this, even if not true. It's just old and tiring.
Where are the patient advocates? They should be speaking out to respond to the ethics of this outraged press and their right to know everything. All the HIPAA laws we have to sign protecting patients privacy go right out the window.
I wonder if he has a release from his patient to be talking about treatment and condition.
Give the man a purple heart and stick a badge of Kerry on him.
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