Washington Park shooting victim leaves Denver hospital, shares list of new goals
Following jaw reconstruction surgery Monday, Ben Varga, who was shot in the neck at Denver's Washington Park Feb. 2, was released from Denver Health Tuesday afternoon and headed home to rest and recuperate.
He said he was "thrilled to be able to go home today and to let my jaw start healing up fully."
Varga, 23, knows how lucky he is. A hospital nurse told his mother that Ben "should buy a lottery ticket every day for the rest of my life considering where the bullet went and the impacts it could have had."
He had been dropped off at the park on a warm afternoon planning to meet friends for a picnic. According to the Denver Police Department, two people were in an argument over a park bench when one pulled out a gun and fired. Somehow, a shot hit Varga in the back of the neck, traveling through his jaw and taking out a molar and three other teeth. Varga spent more than two weeks in a hospital bed before his Tuesday release.
He still faces more medical procedures, and will not be able to eat solid foods for an extended period of time, but shared a list he had compiled of "Things to do when I'm healed." On the list? Doing yoga, going back to Wash Park for a picnic, throw a party to celebrate surviving the park shooting and eating at his favorite chicken restaurant.
"Definitely looking forward to some Raising Cane's. ... A nice Diet Coke sounds great, too."
While hospitalized, he says he connected with some other victims of gunshot violence. One told him, "As you heal physically, other challenges might arise you didn't have beforehand."
An avid skier, Varga emailed Vail Resorts during his hospitalization, asking for a refund for his Epic Pass, since he had been shot and would not be able to ski for the balance of the ski season. But he received a response on Feb. 15 denying him a refund: "The injury, illness or disease did not prevent you from using your pass for thirty(30) or more consecutive days..." read the denial.
"I honestly just kind of laughed out loud," he said, calling the denial "pretty comical."
When CBS News Colorado followed up and contacted Vail Resorts, company spokesperson John Plack apologized for the initial denial.
"Upon review with the third-party provider who administers Epic Coverage, it looks like Mr. Varga's claim was accidentally filed incorrectly, which is why it was initially denied. We are reaching out to Mr. Varga to provide him a refund on his pass given his injury. ... We wish Mr. Varga the best in his recovery," wrote Plack.
As he left Denver Health, Varga offered effusive praise for the doctors, nurses and staff who had cared for him. He called the hospital personnel "top notch. I can't thank them enough." And he reiterated praise for one of their doctors, Dr. Lakshmi Karra, who happened to be at the park the day of the shooting, and administered aid to Varga, using his picnic blanket to apply pressure to the gunshot wound.
The alleged shooter, Ryan Egelston, is being held at the Denver Jail on 10 charges, including attempted murder. His bond has been set at $1 million.
Varga said he was looking forward to being home with the family dogs, Bernie and Tatum. The University of Colorado graduate said he viewed what happened to him at Washington Park as the unluckiest day of his life, being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being shot. But he said he also viewed it as the luckiest day of his life, given where the bullet struck him, and how things could have ended up.
