Rick and Karen Foerster, a couple in their 50s who live in neighboring Beaver County, arrived at the Trump Rally in Butler County, Pa., at 9 a.m. on Saturday and waited in the 90-degree heat for the gates to open at 1 p.m. As the program began, Karen was overcome by the heat and became unwell. She was transported to Butler Memorial Hospital, which was only 11 miles from the site.
While the Foersters were still in the Emergency Dept., the news broke that Donald Trump had just been shot in the head. Others in the waiting room had also been at the rally or had friends there, as did the Foersters, and the news sent shock waves through the room.
"The nurse and Ms. Foerster were in disbelief. A woman they met in the waiting room fell against the wall and immediately started crying," reported the Epoch Times. "They worried about their friends still at the rally: Were they in danger? And what did they see?"
“What a horrible, horrible thing to witness,” Ms. Foerster told The Epoch Times.
At the rally, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore was killed instantly by the shooter. Two critically wounded rallygoers were airlifted to Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh's North Side. Trump, who was not seriously injured, traveled by motorcade to Butler Memorial.
As the motorcade pulled up, the hospital went into lockdown. Rick pulled out his phone and videoed the scene as Secret Service agents got out and scanned the building.
In the video, the mood inside the waiting room is frought with angst and dread. "Oh, yeah, we were front row, and my friend saw blood coming out of his head," Rick can be heard relating.
"Oh, my God," a woman cries. "Oh, Jesus."
Then President Trump emerges from a vehicle. People exclaim, "There he is," and, "Oh thank God, he's walking."
"He's walking! He's walking!" Rick says excitedly. The mood shifts instantly from extreme distress to jubilation, and one patient can even be seen standing up out of a wheelchair to see the former president.
Trump himself can only be glimpsed in a frame or two at a distance, but the excitement and relief felt by the witnesses in the video is contagious:
EXCLUSIVE: An ER patient's husband captures the moment an injured Trump arrives at a Pennsylvania hospital after surviving an assassination attempt.
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) July 17, 2024
The people in the waiting room then prayed for the former president.
Courtesy of Rick Foerster pic.twitter.com/0A8IBFNT84
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The president of Butler Memorial Hospital, Karen Allen, had been at a baby shower when she heard the news that there had been a shooting at the nearby Trump rally, and that the former president was among the victims. Dr. Dave Rottinghaus, the president of the Butler Hospital network and an ER doctor, was at a graduation party when he heard. They both headed to work immediately, reports Trib Live:
When Allen arrived, she said she saw Butler County police, Butler city police, Pittsburgh police, FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Security officers “all around the building” and 15-20 black SUVs. All entrances inside the hospital were locked down electronically as well, she said.
“Nobody was allowed into the emergency department — no matter what your position was,” she said.
[…]
Trump received care immediately, according to Rottinghaus. …
"Obviously, the former president is a very high priority," he said. "In this particular case, obviously we allocated resources, physicians, nurses, techs within our emergency department, and we were given advanced notification that he was coming in, so that helped us prepare."
As the world knows, Trump was treated and released. He then traveled to his home in Bedminster, N.J. Allen remarked, "We heard that [Trump] was very personable, very appreciative, thanking the staff for the great care that he received."
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