Former patients remember Dr. Preston Phillips, one of the four victims of Tulsa mass shooting

One of the four victims of the Tulsa mass shooting was a doctor in Seattle years ago. Dr. Preston Phillips worked at the Swedish Medical Center from 1998 to 2005, according to the hospital. They sent out this statement about Dr. Phillips:

It is a struggle to comprehend such a tragic loss. We hold all the victims, caregivers, family members and others directly affected in our hearts as these shootings are taking a terrible toll on all of us as a nation. Violence of any kind is always troubling, but this tragedy and loss hits especially close to home.

Former patients have also shared their memories of Dr. Phillips. Neal Warnick says Dr. Phillips performed his back surgery over 20 years ago. He says, “I remember getting settled in and kind of floating out, and then they had the blues come in. They piped in the blues and I remember going ‘wow, they’re playing the blues.’ And they told me Dr. Phillips likes the blues when he does surgery. And I’m like cool,” Warnick said.

He says it wasn’t just Dr. Phillips’ music choice, but his character that Warnick will always remember.

“And then I followed up a couple of times with him for post-surgery appointments, and I always just said he was a sweet man,” Warnick said.

One woman tells us Dr. Phillips fused her husband’s neck from a ruptured disk in the fall of 1998. She says he was a gentle giant of sorts with huge hands performing the most intricate surgeries. She says he had a caring demeanor and outstanding precision which led to which she called the most successful surgery her husband had. She says the world lost an amazing surgeon and man from this tragedy.

“He had the prime of his life to go and it just sucks,” Warnick said.

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