CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. ? His face marked with tiny birdshot wounds, the lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney while quail hunting left a hospital Friday, saying “accidents do and will happen” and apologizing for the trouble the incident had caused the vice president.

“My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with,” Harry Whittington said, his voice a bit raspy but strong in his first comments since being shot on a South Texas ranch six days earlier.

The Austin attorney spoke less than 20 minutes before Cheney made his first public appearance since the shooting, when he received a rousing ovation from legislators in his home state of Wyoming.

“It’s a wonderful experience to be greeted by such warmth by the leaders of our great state. It’s especially true when you’ve had a very long week,” Cheney said in Cheyenne.

“Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well.”

Whittington, 78, was hit in the face, neck and chest with birdshot Feb. 11. After a shotgun pellet traveled to his heart, he suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday while being treated at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial.

“We all assume certain risks in what we do, in what activities we pursue,” Whittington said. “Accidents do and will happen.”

He said last weekend involved “a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially with those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting.”

Dr. David Blanchard, the hospital’s chief of emergency care, said the attorney was lucky to have survived.

Cheney took full blame for the shooting in a Wednesday appearance on Fox News, but his comments Friday were focused on reminiscing about Wyoming politicians, including his time as the state’s sole representative in the U.S. House.

“For better than a decade, I proudly answered to the title, ‘the gentleman from Wyoming,'” Cheney said.