- Feb 1, 2001
- 6,135
- 2
- 0
edit 8/21:
http://www.nj.com/news/glouces...60049192970.xml&coll=8
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3499534&page=1
More than 4 months later it's still surreal.
edit 4/24: There's a website up that has updates on his condition, pictures, and a donation link if anyone is so inclined.
http://www.seanmcquade.faithweb.com/
----
I've been mostly quiet about it except for one post because of the emotional overload but my 2nd cousin, who was shot in the VT massacre, has been upgraded from critical to serious condition so I feel a little more comfortable talking about it. I really can't express in words how much more this hits home when it's someone you know. I watched the news all day when it was happening with the attitude of 'wow, that really sucks' but it was distant. It's not actually happening to you, until it is. I haven't seen him in years since I moved out of NJ but his brother and I used to be pretty tight. I've been an emotional wreck the past couple days but for the most part I've been holding it in just because, well, that's how I am.
The whole thing reminds me of the expression 'Carpe Diem'....seize the day. You never know if it's going to be your last. When my day comes...be it today, tomorrow, 50 years from now or somewhere in between I want to be able to say I lived my life as best as I could during the time that I was here.
Sorry, had to get some of this off my chest. Oh, and if the fvcker that did this was still alive, there would be one more person down there searching for his ass.
http://www.nj.com/news/glouces...64918259990.xml&coll=8
Clearview grad's condition upgraded to serious
Thursday, April 19, 2007
By Jonathan Vit
and Courtney Elko gcnews@sjnewsco.com
Sean McQuade heard the voices of his two Virginia Tech roommates Wednesday and signaled with a thumbs up.
It was one more sign that the Clearview Regional High School graduate was recovering from injuries suffered Monday in a shooting spree at Virginia Tech by a fellow student who killed 32 before taking his own life.
"Everyday is positive," explained great-uncle Lynn McQuade. "They originally said the first 72 hours are the most critical, we are now through about 48 of them."
McQuade's condition at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital was upgraded from critical to serious condition Wednesday, approximately 48 hours after a bullet entered his cheek and shattered his jaw bone before fragmenting into three to five pieces.
Hospital officials list the patient conditions in descending order from most to least serious as critical, serious, fair and good.
For family members that remained behind in New Jersey, this news is a relief after a day of misinformation and rumor.
Lynn McQuade has been fielding updates on his nephew's condition to the news media as immediate family members left their Harrison Township residence for Roanoke, Va., the day of the shooting.
Although he has direct contact with family members sitting by Sean McQuade's bedside, Lynn McQuade has spent the last three days struggling through often conflicting reports of his nephew's condition.
On Tuesday, Lynn McQuade heard that his nephew had passed away. Only after dialing up those sitting by Sean McQuade's bedside did he learn that the rumor wasn't true.
"What's your heart feel like when it is in your feet?" said McQuade when asked how the rumor made him feel. "It is driving us up the wall."
And Lynn McQuade isn't alone.
A friend from Virginia Tech called the Times after hearing that Sean McQuade reportedly passed away.
"Oh, thank God," he said upon hearing his friend's upgraded condition.
According to Lynn McQuade, hospital staff are preparing to perform a procedure to drain some fluid collected around a bullet fragment lodged in the base of his neck.
The bullet's trajectory as it traveled through Sean McQuade's face is integral to his chances of survival, explained Patrick Kim, a trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
"The most important factors here are what is injured besides the face," Kim explained. "The bullet that enters the face can enter the brain, it can enter the airway or fracture the facial bones. Really, the outcome from a facial gunshot would depend a lot on the trajectory of the bullet."
Although he is now responding to the voices of friends and family members, Sean McQuade a senior mathematics major has been in a drug-induced coma since he was shot in Monday morning's bloody rampage.
According to Kim, hospital staff could be keeping Sean McQuade sedated for a number of reasons.
"They may be choosing to do it because of the pain or because the airway is unstable or because there is a brain injury they are trying to manage," Kim explained. "Having a lot of pain (can also) slow down healing."
Right now, Lynn McQuade is taking his nephew's condition day to day.
"Everyday he shows signs of improvement," McQuade said. "He does know that his parents and everyone are there. They have him pretty well sedated, but he does know his parents are there."
Fellow Clearview High School grad and Virginia Tech senior Jason Brown said he got a phone call Wednesday morning saying his friend Sean McQuade is doing better.
"They took him off some heavy meds and he was fidgety," Brown said. "That is excellent news."
http://www.nj.com/news/glouces...60049192970.xml&coll=8
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3499534&page=1
More than 4 months later it's still surreal.
edit 4/24: There's a website up that has updates on his condition, pictures, and a donation link if anyone is so inclined.
http://www.seanmcquade.faithweb.com/
----
I've been mostly quiet about it except for one post because of the emotional overload but my 2nd cousin, who was shot in the VT massacre, has been upgraded from critical to serious condition so I feel a little more comfortable talking about it. I really can't express in words how much more this hits home when it's someone you know. I watched the news all day when it was happening with the attitude of 'wow, that really sucks' but it was distant. It's not actually happening to you, until it is. I haven't seen him in years since I moved out of NJ but his brother and I used to be pretty tight. I've been an emotional wreck the past couple days but for the most part I've been holding it in just because, well, that's how I am.
The whole thing reminds me of the expression 'Carpe Diem'....seize the day. You never know if it's going to be your last. When my day comes...be it today, tomorrow, 50 years from now or somewhere in between I want to be able to say I lived my life as best as I could during the time that I was here.
Sorry, had to get some of this off my chest. Oh, and if the fvcker that did this was still alive, there would be one more person down there searching for his ass.
http://www.nj.com/news/glouces...64918259990.xml&coll=8
Clearview grad's condition upgraded to serious
Thursday, April 19, 2007
By Jonathan Vit
and Courtney Elko gcnews@sjnewsco.com
Sean McQuade heard the voices of his two Virginia Tech roommates Wednesday and signaled with a thumbs up.
It was one more sign that the Clearview Regional High School graduate was recovering from injuries suffered Monday in a shooting spree at Virginia Tech by a fellow student who killed 32 before taking his own life.
"Everyday is positive," explained great-uncle Lynn McQuade. "They originally said the first 72 hours are the most critical, we are now through about 48 of them."
McQuade's condition at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital was upgraded from critical to serious condition Wednesday, approximately 48 hours after a bullet entered his cheek and shattered his jaw bone before fragmenting into three to five pieces.
Hospital officials list the patient conditions in descending order from most to least serious as critical, serious, fair and good.
For family members that remained behind in New Jersey, this news is a relief after a day of misinformation and rumor.
Lynn McQuade has been fielding updates on his nephew's condition to the news media as immediate family members left their Harrison Township residence for Roanoke, Va., the day of the shooting.
Although he has direct contact with family members sitting by Sean McQuade's bedside, Lynn McQuade has spent the last three days struggling through often conflicting reports of his nephew's condition.
On Tuesday, Lynn McQuade heard that his nephew had passed away. Only after dialing up those sitting by Sean McQuade's bedside did he learn that the rumor wasn't true.
"What's your heart feel like when it is in your feet?" said McQuade when asked how the rumor made him feel. "It is driving us up the wall."
And Lynn McQuade isn't alone.
A friend from Virginia Tech called the Times after hearing that Sean McQuade reportedly passed away.
"Oh, thank God," he said upon hearing his friend's upgraded condition.
According to Lynn McQuade, hospital staff are preparing to perform a procedure to drain some fluid collected around a bullet fragment lodged in the base of his neck.
The bullet's trajectory as it traveled through Sean McQuade's face is integral to his chances of survival, explained Patrick Kim, a trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
"The most important factors here are what is injured besides the face," Kim explained. "The bullet that enters the face can enter the brain, it can enter the airway or fracture the facial bones. Really, the outcome from a facial gunshot would depend a lot on the trajectory of the bullet."
Although he is now responding to the voices of friends and family members, Sean McQuade a senior mathematics major has been in a drug-induced coma since he was shot in Monday morning's bloody rampage.
According to Kim, hospital staff could be keeping Sean McQuade sedated for a number of reasons.
"They may be choosing to do it because of the pain or because the airway is unstable or because there is a brain injury they are trying to manage," Kim explained. "Having a lot of pain (can also) slow down healing."
Right now, Lynn McQuade is taking his nephew's condition day to day.
"Everyday he shows signs of improvement," McQuade said. "He does know that his parents and everyone are there. They have him pretty well sedated, but he does know his parents are there."
Fellow Clearview High School grad and Virginia Tech senior Jason Brown said he got a phone call Wednesday morning saying his friend Sean McQuade is doing better.
"They took him off some heavy meds and he was fidgety," Brown said. "That is excellent news."
I hope your cousin gets better.
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