Story highlights Tim Gardner was watching on TV as his wife Vicki Gardner was shot in the back

His wife called on the way to the hospital and told him she was "lucky to be alive," Tim Gardner says

"We are confident she will recover," chamber of commerce chairman says of Vicki Gardner

(CNN) The husband of Vicki Gardner, a chamber of commerce executive who survived being shot in the back during a live news broadcast in Virginia, was watching on TV as the tragic events unfolded.

Tim Gardner told CNN's Chris Cuomo he was "stunned" at what had happened but relieved that he was able to speak to his wife by phone as she was taken to the hospital.

"When she called me she told me she had been shot in the back and that she was lucky to be alive," he said.

She was even able to get up and walk to the ambulance, he said, although she now has "a long recovery period" ahead.

The shooting occurred when Gardner -- the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce -- was being interviewed in a live broadcast by reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward of Virginia-based WDBJ-TV.