Health & Science

The Living Wounded

WAMU 88.5

Published October 4, 2017 at 9:06 AM CDT

People react as they leave the family assistance center where family members were advised to go October 2, 2017 for more information about their loved one after a gunman killed 59 people and wounded more than 500 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada late October 1, 2017.

In the days to come, the victims whose lives were taken in the Las Vegas shooting massacre will be honored and remembered. But many who survived the tragedy with serious injuries are just coming to terms with difficult days ahead.

The physical damage from a gunshot wound can do severe damage to blood vessels, bones and organs. The mental and emotional trauma often long outlast the wounds. And the costs for immediate or long-term medical treatment of a gunshot can add greatly to a victim’s burden.

We confront the challenges for those injured in this week’s mass shooting and consider what can be done to aid the living wounded.

GUESTS

Dr. Joseph Sakran, Gunshot survivor and trauma surgeon, Johns Hopkins Hospital

Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, Trauma psychologist and chair of an international Ph.D. program for The Chicago School of Professional Psychology; adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University School of Medicine

Elizabeth Van Brocklin, Staff reporter at The Trace, covering urban violence, including the experiences and needs of gunshot survivors and institutions accountable to them

Scott Charles, Trauma outreach coordinator, Temple Hospital in Philadelphia

Sally Ho, Reporter in Las Vegas, Associated Press @_sallyho

For more, visit http://the1a.org.