Las Vegas shooting survivor Frost moved to Baltimore hospital
Days after awakening from a medically induced coma, Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting victim Tina Frost headed back to her home state, Maryland, and was admitted to a hospital there.
About 9:45 a.m. Sunday, neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Blum discharged his 27-year-old patient from Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas and placed her in a fixed-wing medical aircraft bound for Maryland, specifically Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Blum first gave the OK for the transfer Friday, shortly after the Maryland native and San Diego transplant had taken her first steps since the deadly mass shooting. Frost was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Sunday night, a spokeswoman said. Frost’s condition was listed as undetermined.
On Oct. 1, Frost was one of the more than 500 wounded concertgoers rushed to a Las Vegas Valley emergency room. She landed under Blum’s care after a single bullet from the gunfire raining down on the Strip’s south end entered her right eye, damaging her brain and shattering the front of her skull. Her initial surgery lasted three hours.
On Saturday, Blum said the hospital transfer between Las Vegas and Maryland would be critical for her recovery.
“It’s not about trying to find the best hospital to take care of her,” the neurosurgeon said. “What she needs is her community and family, and that’s where her support system is.”
Frost is from Crofton, Maryland, about 23 miles south of Baltimore. She was a soccer standout and multisport athlete at Arundel High School.
Frost’s friends in Maryland have spent the week preparing for her return. Fundraisers were held at the Hideaway restaurant and Molloy’s Irish Pub and Grill, where former schoolmates and others dropped by to contribute to the cause, said Tara Beavers, 27.
“I knew her in middle school and we continued on from there,” said Beavers, a high school lacrosse teammate of Frost’s.
#TinaTough T-shirts sold out at the first fundraiser Thursday at the Hideaway barbecue joint in Odenton, Maryland, said Beavers, who organized both fundraisers.
Frost’s father, Rich, who made a trip from Las Vegas to Maryland to pick up items, attended the fundraiser before heading back to Nevada to be at his daughter’s side, Beavers said.
A second event Saturday at Molloy’s attracted more than 50 people.
“It was a really good turnout,” Beavers said. “People from all walks of life.”
A tailgate fundraiser is planned for Oct. 26 before the Thursday night National Football League game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins. #TailgateforTina will include #TinaTough and #TinaStrong merchandise.
Meanwhile, Blum said, Frost was awake and responding well before boarding the air ambulance Sunday morning.
Blum said, “I was able to see the family off and wish them well during the next phase of recovery. We said our goodbyes, for now.”
Carlene Printy, Frost’s grandmother in Baltimore, said she hopes to one day meet the surgeon who saved her granddaughter.
“I’m just so thankful for this surgeon who knew what he was doing and knew how to help Tina,” Printy said Saturday. “We are all so grateful.”
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Contact Gary Martin at 202-662-7390 or gmartin@reviewjournal.com.Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.
