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The lone survivor, Vicki Gardner, was critically injured when a bullet struck her abdomen. In the years since she has endured multiple surgeries and overwhelming pain, but she has continued to persevere.

Later this year, Gardner will be releasing her book “The Consequences of Survival� detailing the tragic shooting, the days after and her long recovery. She has worked on it over the past four years at her Goodview home.

“It has always been my goal to have it turned in to the printer by Aug. 26,� Gardner said.

Aug. 26 has long been a significant date for Gardner. It was the date she was hired by the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2002. It was the date when she retired in 2019 and was the date of the tragic shooting in 2015 that nearly took her life.

Gardner still vividly remembers the morning of Aug. 26, which she details in her book. That morning she met with WDBJ journalists Ward and Parker to discuss Smith Mountain Lake’s 50th anniversary coming up the following year.

The interview was broadcast live on WDBJ from Bridgewater Plaza. It is a small shopping center in Moneta overlooking Smith Mountain Lake.

During the interview that day, Gardner said she noticed someone briefly before hearing multiple shots being fired. She witnessed both Ward and Parker being shot and felt a bullet pass through her hair before quickly dropping to the ground and pretending she was dead.

The shooter was later identified as Vester Lee Flanagan, a former WDBJ reporter. He had been fired by the station in 2013.

“It was just so tragic to watch two people murdered and knowing that I was next,� Gardner said of the shooting.

While on the ground pretending to be dead, Gardner said Flanagan shot her in the back. She recalled forcing herself to stay silent and motionless even after being shot.

“I had to be a ragdoll,� Gardner said. “So my body took it and I continued to lay there.�

Gardner then recalled Flanagan walking up and standing over her. It was then that she was sure she was going to die.

“I opened one of my eyes so I could see my last glimpse of the lake and I heard a click,� Gardner said. “I don’t know what happened, but I know a bullet didn’t go through my head.�

Flanagan left, but Gardner remained there going in and out of consciousness and fearing the shooter would return. She recalled at the moment being afraid she may be paralyzed while also aware she was bleeding internally.

Two deputies with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office were the first to arrive on the scene and escort Gardner to safety. Paramedics arrived shortly after to transport her to Carilion Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø Memorial Hospital.

Gardner said paramedics looked her over and found the entry wound in her back with no exit wound. She later learned that Flanagan had used hollow tip bullets that cause more damage, something that became more evident in the days and months after the shooting as she delt with the repercussions.

“The bullet went into my back, but it took my kidney, it affected my spleen and I lost a lot of my colon,� Gardner said. She was given multiple blood transfusions as doctors worked to stop the bleeding in the hours after the shooting.

Gardner gives details in her book about the shooting. She also doesn’t shy away from mentioning Flanagan, someone she didn’t want to know anything about at first.

“After I was shot I didn’t want to know anything about this person. I just want him purged from my life entirely,� Gardner said of Flanagan. “But when I began to write the book I had to look up details.�

Police located Flanagan several hours after the shooting driving on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia. He fatally shot himself while being pursued by Virginia State Police.

In addition to the day of the shooting, Gardner shares the positives that came after in the book such as the Day of Remembrance held at Bridgewater Plaza. It was held less than a month after the tragedy with hundreds of members of the lake community coming together to join hands around the plaza where the shooting occurred.

The day was the first public outing for Gardner since the shooting. She was in attendance despite just being released from the hospital. Just a few weeks later, she returned to her job at the SML Regional Chamber of Commerce — just a few steps away from where she was shot.

Donations poured in for Gardner in the days after. She chose not to use them for herself and instead created Vicki’s Vision.

The goal of the project was to create a community center for the lake. A board was later created, SML Center Inc., that continues working to build a center. Their latest proposal is to use Westlake Cinema as its location.

In the months after the shooting, Gardner persevered through the tragedy and refused to let it define her. She continued working for the chamber for another four years until doctors recommended she retire due to her injuries.

She even continued working after she was diagnosed with breast cancer just two years later. The diagnosis later resulted in a mastectomy.

The injury that impacted Gardner’s day to day life the most was to her back. The bullet severed the muscles on one side, causing the spine to bend and resulting in what she called “incredible pain� that required multiple surgeries to her back and neck.

Gardner said she recently had surgery to insert a spinal cord stimulator in her back. After years of suffering, she said the surgery was able to reduce her pain significantly.

A battery-powered device was implanted under Gardner’s skin that blocks the pain signals to her brain. She is able to control the device using her cellphone.

“I’m the bionic woman now,� Gardner said of the device implanted in her back.

In the 10 years after the shooting, Gardner said writing this book has been therapeutic for her. While it gives a glimpse into that tragic day, she said it will also focus on the days after. It even offers some humor as she navigated life after the shooting.

With the book in the hands of her publisher, Gardner said she is now preparing to promote it in the coming months. She expects it will be on bookshelves later this year.

Meanwhile, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of its journalists’ deaths, WDBJ is airing a couple of stories — one on a scholarship in Parker’s name and another on the impact of the Adam Ward Classic fundraisers — News Director Brent BonFleur told The Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø in an email.

“Earlier this year, we formed a committee of people in the station who were here when the shooting happened,� BonFleur said. “Our goal all along has been to focus on the good that has resulted from it.�

Also, as it has done every year on Aug. 26, the station will hold a moment of silence during its morning show at the approximate time of the shooting, 6:46 a.m.