Dr. Shaw. I immediately recognized two of the men who worked with me in thoracic surgery, Dr. James Duke and Dr. James Boland, Dr. Giesecke, who is an anesthesiologist, was also there along with a Dr. David Mebane who is an instructor in general surgery.
Mr. Specter. What was Governor Connally's condition at that time, based on your observations?
Dr. Shaw. The Governor was complaining bitterly of difficulty in breathing, and of pain in his right chest. Prior to my arriving there, the men had very properly placed a tight occlusive dressing over what on later examination proved to be a large sucking wound in the front of his right chest, and they had inserted a rubber tube between the second and third ribs in the front of the right chest, carrying this tube to what we call a water seal bottle.
Mr. Specter. What was the purpose?
Dr. Shaw. Yes; this is done to reexpand the right lung which had collapsed due to the opening through the chest wall.
Mr. Specter. What wounds, if any, did you observe on the Governor at that time?
Dr. Shaw. I observed no wounds on the Governor at this time. It wasn't until he was taken to the operating room that I properly examined him from the standpoint of the wound.
Mr. Specter. How long after your initial viewing of him was he taken to the operating room?
Dr. Shaw. Within about 5 minutes. I stepped outside to talk to Mrs. Connally because I had been given information by Dr. Duke that blood had been drawn from the Governor, sent to the laboratory for cross-matching for blood that we knew would be necessary, that the operating room had already been alerted, and that they were ready and they were merely awaiting my arrival.
Mr. Specter. How was Governor Connally transported from the emergency room to the operating room?