Cheyenne – Vice President Dick Cheney returned to his home state Friday, getting a standing ovation from lawmakers shortly after the lawyer he accidentally shot made his first public comments about the Feb. 11 hunting trip.
“I want to thank you for that welcome home,” Cheney told the Wyoming lawmakers. “It’s a wonderful experience to be greeted by such warmth by the leaders of our great state. It’s especially true when you’ve had a very long week. Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well.”
In Texas, the 78-year-old Whittington stood outside the Corpus Christi hospital where he has been treated, telling reporters he was sorry for all the trouble Cheney had faced since the shooting during a quail hunting trip in south Texas.
“We all assume certain risks in what we do, in what activities we pursue,” Whittington said. “Accidents do and will happen.”
Dr. David Blanchard, the hospital’s chief of emergency care, said Whittington was released Friday because of “his excellent health,” but added that Whittington wasn’t answering questions because “he is not 100 percent.”
He said the Austin attorney was lucky to have survived the shooting.
Whittington was hit in the face, neck and chest with birdshot during the hunting trip. After a shotgun pellet traveled to his heart, he suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday while being treated at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial.
During his appearance Friday, he had what appeared to be a line of scarring on his upper right eyelid and scrapes on his neck.
