Saint Francis shooting victim's memory lives on through scholarship
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — It's been one year since Dr. Stephanie Husen's life was tragically cut short at Saint Francis Hospital after a gunman went on a rampage and took the lives of four people.
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In that year, Dr. Husen's life and legacy lives on in those who knew and loved her.
Dr. Husen was a sports and internal medicine specialist. She grew up in Ponca City, completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma, and went to medical school at Oklahoma State University.
Her fellow graduates from the class of 2004 are helping make sure her passion for helping others will live on.
"She had a vibrant smile and just a zest for life," said Dr. Natasha Bray, the dean of OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation.
It was medicine that first brought Dr. Bray and Dr. Husen together.
"OSU has a program where they pair second-year students with first-year students as their mentor," said Dr. Bray. "I could help her with tests and what to expect at school, but the reality is, she taught me so much about rolling with the punches and finding joy."
In everyday experiences, as well as monumental ones.
"Dr. Husen was the Maid of Honor at my sister's wedding. We had so much joy being able to celebrate those things together... bottles of champagne... celebrated those wins... graduate school... started families," Dr. Bray said.
Dr. Bray says she'll forever cherish those memories but still grapples with the devastating reality the pair won't be able to make even more.
"You want to be able to honor the life that she lived, and it feels wrong for things to be so normal sometimes. That's been the hardest thing," she said. "This is not supposed to happen to physicians, to someone who is in their office really dedicating their time, their talents, their energy to taking care of others."
While time can't be reversed, Dr. Husen's passion and persistence will live on through the next generation physicians. A scholarship has been set up by former classmates in Dr. Husen's honor. To date, 150 people have made donations totaling more than $60,000.
"It's an amazing testament to the doctor Dr. Husen was and how important it was to not only be a physician but to care about your neighbors in your community, and I think that's what the scholarship really represents," Dr. Bray said.
Below is a statement from Dr. Husen's family on the anniversary of her death:
Written by KTUL staff using files from Brenna Rose.