Dr. Stoeckle met the victims at the door and conducted the main triage initially. “They started bringing patients into the emergency room, one patient after another…and then there was another and another. There was almost no time to think, we just kept doing our jobs.” Dr. Stoeckle’s hospital is the closest to Virginia Tech and where first responders brought the critically wounded after the shooting rampage that happened one April morning in 2007.
“All of our other surgeons were tied up tending to patient injuries when a patient was brought in with a gunshot wound through the femoral artery. I took one look at him, and knowing I was the last surgeon available, took him straight to the OR.” On that day, Dr. Stoeckle and his surgical colleagues cared for 17 students.
“The students were incredible. They were so brave and tough.” The doctors’ extraordinary efforts were honored by the Medical Society Foundation, “The staff provided care that has been described as ‘calm, passionate and very focused on saving lives.’ They unselfishly gave of their time and themselves to ensure that each patient and family member at the hospital, including those that were there for reasons other than the campus incident, received the best quality of care and medical treatment.
They truly gave all to the Blacksburg community and Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.
