Dr. Heather Gulish Melton is a mother of three and a Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Henry County Medical Center r in Paris, Tennessee. On October 1, 2017 Sonny Melton sacrificed his life to save his wife, Heather Melton during the Mandalay Bay Resort Shooting October 2017.

Heather Melton hails from Sebastopol, California a city located 52 miles north of San Francisco, California. She grew up in a family of five children having two brothers and two sisters. Heather's father is an Orthopaedic Surgeon and is her partner. All of Heather's siblings also went into the medical profession. Heather Melton graduated from Analy High School in Sebastopol in 1987.

Heather Melton and her husband Sonny Melton lived in Big Sandy, Tennessee a small town of less than 600 people located near Paris, Tennessee. The couple married in June, 2016 and have three children from a previous relationship.

Heather Melton enjoys spending time outdoors and with her family.

She enjoys wakeboarding, hiking, and camping. She is also a football fan watching NFL, college football, and high school football. She and her her husband Sonny both cheer for the Tennessee Titans.

Heather Melton enjoys helping young athletes and she volunteers as the team physician for the Henry County High School football team. ^[1]

Dr. Heather Melton is an Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in Arthroscopic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedics, and Sports Medicine. She works in the Henry County Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine department of the Henry County Medical Center in Paris, TN.

Heather Melton was inspired to become an Orthapaedic Surgeon by her father who is also an Orthopaedic Surgeon and is her partner at the medical center.

Two of her brothers and her sister-in-law also work with her at the center.

Heather chose the profession since since she enjoys fixing problems and improving the quality of life of her patients.

Dr. Heather Melton completed her medical school at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania graduating in 1997. Heather then did her medical residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center finishing in 2002. She also worked as a medical intern at the center.

Heather Melton graduated from the University of California, Davis with a bachelor's degree in 1992.

Heather Melton said “He was always smiling,” said Melton.

“The most infectious smile.

He loved his family and my children like his own.”

The couple has 3 children from her previous relationship.

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She continued, “Nursing was his calling, and he served well as the hands and feet of Jesus.

We are all better for having known him.

Even as we grieve his passing, we rejoice in the fact that in Christ we have victory over death.”

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Heather Melton also posted on Facebook that she lost her “true love and knight in shining armor” and asked for time to grieve.

During October, 2017 Heather Melton and her husband Sonny Melton were vacationing in Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate the one year wedding anniversary. ^[1] On October 1, 2017 Heather and Sonny attended a Jason Aldean show at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. The show was the site of the Mandalay Bay Resort Shooting October 2017 where Stephen Paddock killed 58 and injured more than 515 people.

Sonny Melton sacrificed his life to save his wife, Dr. Heather Gulish Melton during the shooting.

He used his body as human shield to protect Heather and prevent any bullets from hitting her. Due to Sonny's heroic actions, Heather survived the shooting without any injuries. However Sonny died that day from gunshot wounds.