Dozens gravely wounded in Vegas face long road to recovery

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

The bullets are still there.

For the dozens of people who remain hospitalized in Las Vegas from the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the onslaught isn’t over. The pain lingers. They remain haunted by the uncertainty of their recovery.

“My fear is that I won’t progress, you know. I want to be able to walk again. I want to be able to function normally,” said Michael Caster, who was paralyzed in the shooting. “I’m happy to be alive, that I got out of there, but I want to have a good life going forward, too.”

The hospital worker from the Palm Springs, Calif., area is one of about 45 people still hospitalized in four Las Vegas hospitals after the shooting that left 58 people dead and more than 500 wounded, most with gunshots.

Loved ones linger at their bedside, offering comfort and a familiar face in an unfamiliar place. They, too, face challenges in caring for family members away from home.

About a third of those still hospitalized remain in critical condition nearly two weeks later. Grateful to have survived, they and their families must face the reality that the recovery will be difficult, and, for some, incomplete.

Caster, 41, plans to leave Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in the coming days after being shot through his left side at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip. The bullet blew through his lung, near his heart, and either it or bone fragment ended up in his spine. He has lost all feeling and function from the waist down.

The fragment is still there, too risky to remove. Caster is eager to start a two-month program at a Colorado hospital specializing in spinal injuries.

He’s calm, even a bit reserved, yet smiles broadly and easily in lighter moments, such as when talking about his lukewarm taste for country music. Caster attended the festival with his girlfriend and a group of friends.

He’s thankful his support network has also been well-cared-for. His girlfriend, sister, brother-in-law and parents who have come to Las Vegas to be with him have been aided by local businesses that provided them free hotel rooms and food while they focus on him.

The night of the shooting, Caster’s girlfriend found the help that got him to the hospital. As he floated in and out of consciousness, he remembers people fleeing the scene telling her to save herself. They told her someone would come back to find him.

She stayed.

Caster grows emotional again talking about her, before smirking and noting a lot of people are telling him it’s time to get married.

“She’s never left me,” Caster said.