ORMC trauma surgeons, shooting survivor speak out

Orlando Regional Medical Center was a flurry of questions, reflections and answers Tuesday, June 14, during a press conference that included eight trauma surgeons and one surviving victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Surgeons discussed their personal experiences and timelines of the shooting, which occurred early the morning of June 12. Additionally, survivor Angel Colon was present to describe the scene at the club and the injuries he sustained. Colon said he was shot about three times in the leg, fell and was trampled over in the stampede of people running for safety before eventually being dragged out of the club by a police officer.

ORMC is the largest Level One trauma center in the state, treating about 5,000 trauma cases annually. On Sunday morning, it admitted 44 victims. Nine died upon arriving at the hospital, 27 are still admitted and the rest have since been released. Of the remaining 27 patients, ORMC staff confirmed that six are still in critical condition.

Dr. Michael Cheatham, chief surgical quality officer at ORMC, said that the staff performed 28 surgeries the morning of the shooting, eight surgeries the following Monday and still had eight surgeries scheduled for Tuesday. He said that the team worked together to rapidly escalate from three operating rooms to six within 30 to 60 minutes.

“We’re doing everything we possibly can to pull them (remaining patients) through this,” Cheatham said. “I know those patients and their families would covet your thoughts and prayers for rapid recovery.”

Here are some of the thoughts shared by ORMC surgeons and Pulse shooting survivor Angel Colon:

“The way you guys (ORMC staff) have taken care of us in this hospital is amazing. If it wasn’t for you guys I wouldn’t be here. I will love you guys forever for doing that for me.” - Angel Colon, shooting survivor

“This person (the shooter) had to be heartless. Heartless, ruthless, I don’t know how you could do something like this. Just to see bodies everywhere and to see this person enjoying it…I’ve heard from others he was laughing in other rooms, that he was calm doing his thing.” - Angel Colon, shooting survivor

“It was singularly the worst day of my career and the best day of my career.” - Dr. Chadwick Smith, surgical ICU director and attending trauma surgeon on call at ORMC

“With a busy Level One trauma center, we’re used to seeing gunshot wounds each night, but this was somewhat of a surreal experience.” - Dr. William Havron, trauma surgeon at ORMC

“Disasters are something we plan for. All trauma centers around the world do this.You can never prepare adequately for an event such as this. I think this is the largest disaster we probably could have imagined.” - Dr. Michael Cheatham, chief surgical quality officer at ORMC

“It’s hard to describe how you feel. When the task comes to hand, you just do what needs to be done.” - Dr. Chadwick Smith, surgical ICU director and attending trauma surgeon on call at ORMC

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].