Donald Trump's former doctor Ronny Jackson says the former president is recovering as expected from a gunshot wound to the ear he suffered last week, but he noted periodic bleeding and said Trump may need to undergo a hearing test.
The bullet fired by a suspected assassin at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 was “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head” before hitting the tip of Trump's right ear, said Jackson, a Republican congressman from Texas who served as a physician to Presidents Trump and Barack Obama.
Five days after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Trump on Thursday accepted the Republican Party's nomination as presidential candidate for the November 5 election.
Jackson apparently provided the first public description of Trump's gunshot wound by a medical professional. In a letter posted on social media on Saturday, he said that “the bullet mark left a one-inch-wide wound that extended to the cartilage surface of the ear.”
“There was significant bleeding initially, followed by significant swelling of the entire upper ear. The swelling has now subsided and the wound is beginning to granulate and heal properly,” he wrote.
Jackson said he has been examining and treating Trump's wound daily since the shooting.
He said no stitches were required, but noted that due to the “highly vascular nature of the ear, there is still periodic bleeding that requires dressing.”
“He will undergo further testing if necessary, including a comprehensive hearing test,” Jackson added.
Trump described the assassination attempt to a captivated audience at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, saying he was only there “by the grace of the Almighty.”
“I heard a loud hissing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear,” he said, his ear still covered with a thick bandage.
“I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.'”