Harry Whittington's condition worse
The 78-year old attorney that was accidentally shot by the Vice President last weekend has apparently had a heart attack:
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot lodged in his heart and he had "a minor heart attack" Tuesday morning, hospital officials said.
The victim, Harry Whittington, was immediately moved back to the intensive care unit for further treatment, said Peter Banko, the administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial in Texas.
Banko said there was an irregularity in the heartbeat caused by a pellet, and doctors performed a cardiac catheterization. Whittington expressed a desire to leave the hospital, but Banko said he would probably stay for another week to make sure more shot doesn't move to other organs or to other part of his body.
"Some of the birdshot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," Banko said in a news conference outside the hospital.
David Blanchard, chief of emergency care, called it "a silent heart attack, an asymptomatic heart attack. He's not had a heart attack in the traditional sense."
The doctors said Whittington did not experience symptoms of a heart attack or any other problems. They left the birdshot in place and said he could live a healthy life with it there.
Michelle Malkin has called for a moratorium on the jokes until more is known about his condition - seems appropriate to me. In the meantime, the press has sought out hunting experts to cast blame on the Vice President:
Hunting safety experts interviewed Monday agreed it would have been a good idea for Whittington to announce himself — something he apparently didn't do, according to a witness. But they stressed that the shooter is responsible for avoiding other people.
"It's incumbent upon the shooter to assess the situation and make sure it's a safe shot," said Mark Birkhauser, president-elect of the International Hunter Education Association and hunter education coordinator in New Mexico. "Once you squeeze that trigger, you can't bring that shot back."
(added) And lets hope the media calms down a little after their seething attacks on the White House yesterday. Other than rage over being scooped by a smal town newspaper, they had no justification for their blustering. When an accident occurs, citizens have a duty to call proper authorities such as fire, police, medical, etc. No such requirement exists to inform the press at all, much less in a timely fashion or in a specific order.
Best wishes to Mr Whittington and his family. Lets hope for a full recovery.
