Nearly a week after Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people, dozens of his lesser-known victims, some of whom avoided death by fractions of an inch as the bullets flew, are beginning to heal.
Many of the 30 wounded were shot while crouching under classroom desks, afraid the gunman’s next round would find them. Some were struck when they raised their hands in panicked attempts to stop bullets aimed at their heads. Others jumped from classroom windows and were injured when they hit the ground.
The severity of their injuries ranges widely. Some will require reconstructive surgery and extensive physical therapy; others are healing relatively quickly from superficial wounds and broken bones.
Five of the injured remained hospitalized in the Blacksburg, Va., area Saturday night, all but one in stable or good condition, officials said. Sean McQuade of New Jersey is in critical condition, with a bullet lodged in his brain.
Among the wounded are Kristina Heeger, 19, of Vienna, Va., who was shot in the stomach, and Katelyn Carney, 21, of Sterling, Va., who was struck in the hand. Doctors will not say how many injuries were caused by gunfire.
Some injuries were exacerbated by the 9 mm jacketed hollow-point bullets that Cho used, said Vail, a specialist in ballistic injuries. When hollow-point rounds hit the body, they spread into metallic petals “like a flower,” Vail said.
“When the bullet opens, it expands, creating a larger wounding channel,” he said. “There are leaflets, or petals, that peel back.”
The recovery for others will not be so long. Derek O’Dell was hit in the arm when Cho burst into his German class and began shooting. After the gunman left the room, O’Dell and two classmates wedged their feet against the door, straining to keep him out as he shot through the wood.
“I don’t even feel like I can complain or anything, considering what happened to some other people,” said O’Dell, 20, resting Saturday at home in Roanoke, Va.
O’Dell’s father expects his son’s arm to be out of its sling in a week or two. The other part of his recovery could take longer.
“There’s two kinds of health to be looking at, the physical health and the mental health,” said Roger O’Dell. “So far, he’s been good in that regard. But to tell you the truth, none of us have had time to take it in and think about what happened and how bad it was.”
Demian Yakel, an orthopedic surgeon treating five of the injured at Montgomery Regional in Blacksburg, said his patients were conscious and in good spirits, talking to each other in the hallways and in the physical therapy room.
“They’re all very positive,” Yakel said at a briefing. “They don’t want to be beaten down by this. They’re really fired up about getting better. They’re dragging our physical therapists down the hallway.”
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