Cheney's shooting victim works in hospital (requests for privacy)

[sabra]

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060216-110250-6040r

Cheney's shooting victim works in hospital
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Feb. 16

(UPI) -- The 78-year-old Texas lawyer accidentally shot by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has resumed working at his intensive care hospital bedside.

Harry Whittington is in ICU at his request for privacy rather than for medical reasons, and is scheduled to be released early next week, hospital administrator Peter Banko told the Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times.

...

But doctors told the newspaper the birdshot likely will soon be encompassed by scar tissue and will not be able to move further.

Whittington is undergoing an echocardiogram heart examination each day, and before he is released, will undergo a CAT scan to pinpoint the location of the pellet, which would help his Austin doctors better treat him in the future, Banko said.

[babylonsister]

1. Why would anyone prefer to hang out in ICU vs. going home

to his mega-ranch if he's doing so well?

[Richard Steele]

26. Indeed. That explanation is utter BS.

[LittleClarkie]

48. I don't think they meant "vs going home"

I think they mean "vs a semi-private or even a private room."

They're trying to explain away what he's doing in there. I assume he's not going home because he still needs to be in the hospital regardless.

Nevertheless, the story still stinks. Surely they need the ICU for other things, like people who need intensive care, maybe. I can't imagine they'd let someone hang out in there just because he wants to.

He's in ICU because he needs IC, I would reckon.

[wordpix]

51. this is BS, agreed. Anyone in ICU capable of working wants to go home

[Straight Shooter]

2. That's just what everyone wants. Scar tissue in or near the heart.

Every time Whittington is in pain, he can thank his good buddy -- er, make that "acquaintance," Dick "GFY" Cheney.

[joeybee12]

3. Um, arent hospital beds often hard to come by...what if someone else

needed to be in ICU? Someone who wasn't rich and Republican?

[Sugar Smack]

56. Good point. My best friend works in Bed Control at the

hospital here, and daily tells me stories of the circulation and the CRITICAL need to get people in & out of ICU.

[Demeter]

4. Sorry. I Don't Buy It

The man is 78 years old, just had a minor heart attack, and been blasted with birdshot by the Viceman himself. I'd be either hiring Guido or booking tickets for someplace with little or no Bushes. Or buying some good whistleblowers to take the top off this farce, once and for all.

Or dying.

[Rex]

5. What an asshole!

"Harry Whittington is in ICU at his request for privacy rather than for medical reasons..."

So he is taking up bed space that is needed for critical care patients? What a total asshole. Any speck of sympathy I had is now gone. I really can't believe the spin they put on stories to help Cheney out. To all the MSM whores who help Cheney with propaganda; you all suck and deserve to die horrible deaths.

[sabra]

6. first you have to believe this account... if true, I agree.

[Rex]

11. I don't believe it...just wanted to call him an asshole.

Gotta make my daily quota. :evilgrin:

[Sequoia]

24. Oh, but I can think of someone more deserving of that name.

I have to wonder about that story too. Gotta make us sheeple believe everything's hunky dory.

[0007]

39. How about Mary Matalin spin?

This is one woman that I find so phony that I've lost all respect for James Carville.
http://www.home.zonnet.nl/kraan90/image/matalin,%20mary.jpg

[Skittles]

57. I concur, 0007

I am no longer a fan of Carville; how he can be associated in any way with that piece of shit republican whore is beyond me....I don't even want to know

[kurth]

7. He's also playing tennis in the ICU

A little pellet in the heart? No big deal.

[wordpix]

52. hahahaha

[Wickerman]

8. Bull Sh**

Why not just a private room? No one stays in ICU for "privacy". Guess he has a helluva a helath plan that pays for that kind of nonsense. Oh, that's right, we have to pay for his care what with the VP shooting him.

[emulatorloo]

14. I concur - IF ALL IS WELL, WHY ISN'T HE IN A PRIVATE ROOM

Nothing is more Private than a Private Room -- ain't no privacy in an ICU. Who is coming up with this nonsense? and who is stupid enough to believe it?

[liberalnurse]

9. It is a lie......

They could transport this man to a larger Hospital at any given second if privacy was the issue. They want to keep this in control mode! This man is very ill. He could die essentially, be on life support as a drone and we won't know the difference.

He actually belongs in a Trauma I hospital......I am amazed that he has not been transferred based upon the tenacious and unpredictability of the pellets. Migration is always a concern coupled with a compromised cardiac status due to a migrated pellet.

[Fridays Child]

10. The occupancy review board gives away ICU beds to people who want privacy?

Bull. If all he needs is privacy, he can get a private room with a guard at the door. He's in ICU because he needs to be in there for medical reasons. And if he takes one business phone call, he can say he's working. But I've been on the inside of ICU and it's not even set up like a regular hospital room. I'm not even sure if ICU patients have bedside tables, chairs, etc. ICU rooms are configured to accommodate lots of sophisticated and large medical devices, including emergency operating equipment.

[dbonds]

12. When I was in ICU they had gurneys not beds...

Those were the most uncomfortable things ever. Can't imagine anyone wanting to stay an extra second on those things. Also there is constant noise from other people being brought in and out, it was a large room with patients separated by curtains.

[kayice]

17. ICU is one of the least private places.

[Frank Cannon]

25. Absolutely. The "privacy" story is a laughable lie.

He's not in the ICU because he wants to be. He's there because he HAS to be.

[Orsino]

44. ...but with a grain of truth.

In a sense, the ICU is very private. The press would have zero chance of sneaking in. Fewer nurses and doctors would be in and out, too.

This is information management, and the greatest secrecy they can manage without disappearing Mr. Whittington completely.

[Frank Cannon]

49. "Fewer nurses and doctors would be in and out"?

Are you joking? Have you ever BEEN in an ICU? I work in one. It is the LEAST private area in the hospital. Doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, chaplains--you name it--come and go and yammer right outside your door.

If Whit was really looking for privacy, he'd have a regular private room on a regular unit at the end of the hall down from the nurse's station. He could have his own private nurse and some security guy to watch point, and NO ONE would find or bother him.

Like I said, he ain't in the ICU because he wants to be. He's there because he HAS to be.

[wordpix]

53. my dad was in ICU for nearly 7 wks---drs &nurses constantly in & out

[Orsino]

61. A smaller group of doctors and nurses...

...work the ICU than would be roaming the halls outside an ordinary room.

[Boredtodeath]

50. NOT CICU

Cornary Intensive Care Units are all private rooms with tight access control.

There's a huge difference in Surgical ICU units and Cornary ICU units.

[Frank Cannon]

60. CCU is not THAT different

Like I say, if Whit really wanted privacy, he'd get a regular private room on a regular unit at the farthest end from the nurses' station. He could even be on some other unit not normally associated with general medicine or telemetry (they could set up a monitor for him). No one would EVER find him or bother him.

Whit's in the ICU because he absolutely NEEDS to be, not because he wants to be.

[Marymarg]

18. No bathrooms

in ICU. At least, that was my experience.

[livetohike]

13. Working while in the ICU?

Kick his butt out to a regular room and free up the space for someone who needs it!

Better yet, if he is healthy enough to work, send him to his office.

[drm604]

15. Granted, I don't know anything about this particular ICU

but the one's I've either been in or visited had just about zero privacy. The rooms were arranged around a central nursing station and the walls facing that station were glass so that the nurses could see everything. You could pull a curtain for privacy when necessary, but I doubt that it's the first place you would think of if you wanted privacy. He could ask for and afford a private room and even a private nurse if he wanted. This sounds like nonsense to me.

[Frank Cannon]

27. ALL ICUs are that way

Doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, and other staff are right outside your door coming and going and yakking 24 HOURS A DAY. Alarms are going off constantly. ICUs are designed for INSTANT attendance to a patient who is having "a change in status".

If this guy really wanted privacy, he'd be in a regular private room on a regular unit at the farthest end of the hall from the nurse's station. And that's all there is to it.

[Beetwasher]

16. Obvious Propoganda

Very, very obvious. This makes me think old Harry is probably on his deathbed.

[Skittles]

58. where are the pics of this supposedly vital, active man?

It's bullshit

[rodeodance]

19. te he, i took to head line to mean he washed dishes or something.

oh well.

[f-bush]

20. No he's changing bedpans...

gotta pay for that stay in the hospital since it was his fault ya know!

[knitter4democracy]

21. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

Yeah, it's so easy to work from an ICU bed. What a load of crap!

[lovuian]

22. Riiiiiiight!!! Working in the hospital after a heart attack

first off he should be resting and the doctors should be advising him of that

Second what kinda workd does he do that at 78 he can't take some time off

This is such BS....

[lovuian]

33. I sure bet he doesn't want a picture taken of him...

Can you imagine what he looks like!!!

[rocktivity]

23. If he's doing so well, why hasn't he talked with the police?

Are THEY what he needs "pricvacy" from? It would be in Cheney's best interest if his story were corroborated. And why in the world couldn't a private room couldn't made as "secure" as an ICU unit?

:crazy:
rocknation

[emulatorloo]

29. Judge Judy: If it doesn't make sense, it isn't true

and "Don't pee on my shoes and tell me its raining"

[Carni]

28. And who pray tell is paying Harry's ICU bill?

Now is it me or does ICU cost like WAY more than a standard hospital room?

Last time I checked insurance companies weren't allowing the patient to choose their own accomodations based on privacy concerns and personal tastes...

They couldn't put Harry in a room with a couple of guards or cops at the door?

This sounds pretty damned lame to me-

[Auntie Bush]

45. I heard it costs $13,000 a day, but don't hold my feet to the fire on that

[Carni]

63. Vs a private room that is probably half that

Must be nice to *rate* in this country! Grrrrrr!

[mainer]

30. He signed his name to something = working

Someone probably brought him some legal form to sign, and that qualifies.

[cliss]

31. So.....can I see a photo?

Show me a recent photo of Mr. W relaxing in his hospital room.

C'mon now.....

[Orsino]

42. That'd take a years of ACLU lawsuits...

...as with the photos of the Abu Ghraib atrocities.

[Sugar Smack]

55. Oh, me too..and maybe even one direct quote from his mouth.

Wouldn't that be swell? Just one quote. Anything he actually says.


*crickets*

[kma3346]

32. I wonder if he has a guard outside his room

You'd think that other people would see him, like other nurses and doctors, people visiting their loved ones, etc. It's very strange that nobody has reported seeing him, other than people obviously under the control of the Cheney and his gang of thugs.

It really does make you wonder what kind of shape he is really in and if he is even conscious.

[superconnected]

34. Lies lies lies yeah. This article goes with old thompson twins music!

[Ecumenist]

35. I've spent more than a few days in ICU...

And I can tell you that it is the least private place in the hospital. Those walls are glass and people are coming and going all hours of the day and night. BULLSHIT, ya hear me??!! BULLSHIT, I say...

[flordehinojos]

36. HOW VERY SELFISH, NARCISSISTIC AND EGOISTIC of Whittington,

the medical staff treating him, and whatever else influence cheney has on keeping a man in the ICU and keeping that ICU care away from any one who really might need ICU care.

PRIVILEGE, ARROGANCE, POWER, AND MORE PRIVILEGE.

[pimpbot]

37. We need to send a mole to that hospital

Any doctors posting here that live nearby? Maybe they could slip on by to check on someone else in the ICU. I bet Cheney has that whole place in lockdown mode. Everyone who wants to keep their job had to sign a loyality oath or something.

[cliss]

46. Eggs-ackley, PB.

Who do we know here at the DU who works at this hospital? A friend maybe?

The DU now has 85,000 members. If we spread that out over 50 states, that's about 1700 people per state. Come on, there has to be somebody in Corpus Christi......

[Bridget Burke]

59. He's only in the ICU because he needs the care.....

Hospitals have nice, private rooms for those who can pay.

ICU's are busy & crowded. Even the "nicer" ones lack privacy.

[susu369]

38. hospital administrator Peter Bunkum

spews more lies. Wonder what they threatened him with?

Would be refreshing to hear directly from Mr. Whittington as to exactly what HE is thinking.

[HuffleClaw]

40. because they don't want PHOTOS of his injuries being made public

photos that would make clear he wasn't simply 'peppered' as they keep saying.

[Orsino]

43. Even if he was just "peppered," they wouldn't want us...

...seeing photos.

[wordpix]

54. peppered in the face and heart @closer range than Dickhead claims, that is

[cap]

41. people get out of ICU immediately...

there is too great a risk for septic infection. His insurance wont pay for ICU if its only for privacy?

[Lars39]

47. When you're a multi-millionaire, do you even need insurance?

[Xenotime]

62. Who does he think he is?

This is paramount that we get information. Yet Cheney and his "good ol boys" stall to cover up more evidence.