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American Morning

Interview With Rao Ivatury, Nancy Martin

Aired October 21, 2002 - 07:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The couple had just finished dinner and were outside a Ponderosa restaurant when there was suddenly a loud noise. The wife thought it was a muffler backfiring, and then quickly realized how wrong she was.
Her husband, now believed to be the latest sniper's victim, said he was shot, and he collapsed to the ground.

Joining us now from Richmond is the doctor who operated on him, Dr. Rao Ivatury of the Medical College of Virginia. He is joined by Nancy Martin, who in a little bit will share with us the statement from the victim's family.

Good morning to both of you. Thank you very much for being with us this morning.

DR. RAO IVATURY, SURGEON: Good morning.

NANCY MARTIN, TRAUMA PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Good morning.

ZAHN: So, Doctor, how is your patient doing?

IVATURY: He's doing well. He is conscious, he is moving, he is opening his eyes to commands. All of his vital signs remain stable. He has had a good night.

ZAHN: Tell us what he's been through so far. We understand the bullet did a pretty good job of ripping up his stomach and his pancreas.

IVATURY: Yes, all of those were removed at the post-operation, and also the spleen. And yesterday, we went and cleaned out and put the stomach and the intestines back together and removed the bullet.

ZAHN: So, he's had two operations so far?

IVATURY: Yes.

ZAHN: Do you expect anymore surgery down the road for him?

IVATURY: Yes, I expect at least another two to three operations.

ZAHN: Wow! And he still can't breathe on his own at this hour?

IVATURY: He probably can, but we are not allowing him to do that yet, because we want to make sure that he is completely OK before we take him off the ventilator. ZAHN: Has his wife had any opportunity to talk with him, or is he completely sedated?

IVATURY: He is completely sedated, but his wife is constantly there, and she is talking to him, and he does respond to her voice. He's been opening his eyes. So, that's a very good sign.

ZAHN: And I understand he's in pretty good shape athletically, so that, do you think, will enhance his progress?

IVATURY: I think so. I think he is very strong. He's young. So, that really works in his favor.

ZAHN: So, I know you say he's not out of the woods yet. He could face as many as three more operations. What is your hope for him, your best hope?

IVATURY: My best hope is that he'll be OK, but it's going to be a bumpy road, a long process. It's not going to be sudden and swift, unfortunately.

ZAHN: And I know all of the investigators have confirmed this morning that you successfully removed the bullet from his body. Can you tell us this morning whether it was in a piece that was whole, or was the bullet in fragments?

IVATURY: It was fragmented to some extent, but most of it is intact. And this has been turned now to the law enforcement authorities, and I think they are quite pleased with that.

ZAHN: Let's turn to Nancy for a moment. Nancy, if you would, describe to us your function. You're representing the family now, right?

MARTIN: Yes. I spent some time yesterday with the wife, and she's just an incredibly strong person. She has been through a lot, and she spent the entire day with her husband at his bedside, holding his hand, talking to him. And he has really seemed to respond to her

She did give me a statement to read that she wanted to pass along, and if you don't mind, I'd like to read it. It's pretty brief.

ZAHN: Oh, please. We'd love for you to share that with us.

MARTIN: OK. She wrote: "I would like to thank the people of Richmond and Ashland for their caring and prayers. They have been a great ray of hope and comfort. Also, thank you to the staff of the hospital for their excellent dedication and skills. This has been a frightening and difficult time where I have feared for the loss of my husband, friend and soul mate. The support I have gotten from this community, my home community and my family, has seen me through this the whole time. The hospital has taken care of all of our needs, so there is no need to send anything, other than continued prayer. Please pray also for the attacker, and that no one else is hurt."

ZAHN: That's a remarkable statement. Nancy, before we let you go, obviously no one has identified the patient because they don't want to compromise the investigation. Is the family comfortable saying anything about where they are from? I know it's quite clear that this gentleman had pulled up to get some gas at some point, and he was hungry and grabbed a meal. Are they from out of state, or are you even able to say that?

MARTIN: They are from out of state, but she didn't want me to say where they were from.

ZAHN: We understand that, and please let her know all of our thoughts are with her. We really appreciate your sharing that statement with us this morning.

And Dr. Rao Ivatury, best of luck to you. You seem to be on the right road, and our continued good wishes to you and your team as you work so diligently to help bring this patient back to normal.

IVATURY: Thank you very much. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thank you.

ZAHN: Thanks for your time this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 21, 2002 - 07:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The couple had just finished dinner and were outside a Ponderosa restaurant when there was suddenly a loud noise. The wife thought it was a muffler backfiring, and then quickly realized how wrong she was.
Her husband, now believed to be the latest sniper's victim, said he was shot, and he collapsed to the ground.

Joining us now from Richmond is the doctor who operated on him, Dr. Rao Ivatury of the Medical College of Virginia. He is joined by Nancy Martin, who in a little bit will share with us the statement from the victim's family.

Good morning to both of you. Thank you very much for being with us this morning.

DR. RAO IVATURY, SURGEON: Good morning.

NANCY MARTIN, TRAUMA PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Good morning.

ZAHN: So, Doctor, how is your patient doing?

IVATURY: He's doing well. He is conscious, he is moving, he is opening his eyes to commands. All of his vital signs remain stable. He has had a good night.

ZAHN: Tell us what he's been through so far. We understand the bullet did a pretty good job of ripping up his stomach and his pancreas.

IVATURY: Yes, all of those were removed at the post-operation, and also the spleen. And yesterday, we went and cleaned out and put the stomach and the intestines back together and removed the bullet.

ZAHN: So, he's had two operations so far?

IVATURY: Yes.

ZAHN: Do you expect anymore surgery down the road for him?

IVATURY: Yes, I expect at least another two to three operations.

ZAHN: Wow! And he still can't breathe on his own at this hour?

IVATURY: He probably can, but we are not allowing him to do that yet, because we want to make sure that he is completely OK before we take him off the ventilator. ZAHN: Has his wife had any opportunity to talk with him, or is he completely sedated?

IVATURY: He is completely sedated, but his wife is constantly there, and she is talking to him, and he does respond to her voice. He's been opening his eyes. So, that's a very good sign.

ZAHN: And I understand he's in pretty good shape athletically, so that, do you think, will enhance his progress?

IVATURY: I think so. I think he is very strong. He's young. So, that really works in his favor.

ZAHN: So, I know you say he's not out of the woods yet. He could face as many as three more operations. What is your hope for him, your best hope?

IVATURY: My best hope is that he'll be OK, but it's going to be a bumpy road, a long process. It's not going to be sudden and swift, unfortunately.

ZAHN: And I know all of the investigators have confirmed this morning that you successfully removed the bullet from his body. Can you tell us this morning whether it was in a piece that was whole, or was the bullet in fragments?

IVATURY: It was fragmented to some extent, but most of it is intact. And this has been turned now to the law enforcement authorities, and I think they are quite pleased with that.

ZAHN: Let's turn to Nancy for a moment. Nancy, if you would, describe to us your function. You're representing the family now, right?

MARTIN: Yes. I spent some time yesterday with the wife, and she's just an incredibly strong person. She has been through a lot, and she spent the entire day with her husband at his bedside, holding his hand, talking to him. And he has really seemed to respond to her

She did give me a statement to read that she wanted to pass along, and if you don't mind, I'd like to read it. It's pretty brief.

ZAHN: Oh, please. We'd love for you to share that with us.

MARTIN: OK. She wrote: "I would like to thank the people of Richmond and Ashland for their caring and prayers. They have been a great ray of hope and comfort. Also, thank you to the staff of the hospital for their excellent dedication and skills. This has been a frightening and difficult time where I have feared for the loss of my husband, friend and soul mate. The support I have gotten from this community, my home community and my family, has seen me through this the whole time. The hospital has taken care of all of our needs, so there is no need to send anything, other than continued prayer. Please pray also for the attacker, and that no one else is hurt."

ZAHN: That's a remarkable statement. Nancy, before we let you go, obviously no one has identified the patient because they don't want to compromise the investigation. Is the family comfortable saying anything about where they are from? I know it's quite clear that this gentleman had pulled up to get some gas at some point, and he was hungry and grabbed a meal. Are they from out of state, or are you even able to say that?

MARTIN: They are from out of state, but she didn't want me to say where they were from.

ZAHN: We understand that, and please let her know all of our thoughts are with her. We really appreciate your sharing that statement with us this morning.

And Dr. Rao Ivatury, best of luck to you. You seem to be on the right road, and our continued good wishes to you and your team as you work so diligently to help bring this patient back to normal.

IVATURY: Thank you very much. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thank you.

ZAHN: Thanks for your time this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.