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Shark Attack Victim's Condition Uncertain8-Year-Old Remains In Coma-Like StatePENSACOLA, Fla., 8:13 a.m. EDT July 12, 2001 -- Doctors for the boy bitten by a shark off a Florida beach last weekend have conflicting reports about his progress.
Dr. Juliet De Campos says she moved Jessie's reattached arm away from his body, and he immediately moved it back down. She says another doctor who examined Jessie earlier reported that the boy opened his eyes and looked at him, and moved his right foot and his left arm when the physician rubbed the boy's chest and called out his name. But another doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital says that he has seen no promising signs for Arbogast's recovery. The 8-year-old boy has been in critical condition since Friday, when surgeons reattached an arm after it was bitten off by a seven-foot bull shark. The attack left the youngster nearly drained of blood. Dr. Tim Livingston said that there is evidence that Jessie's brain isn't functioning properly, although it's too early to tell the extent of any brain damage. Hospital staffers have said that Jessie blinked and nodded in response to questions shortly after surgery, but had not responded in that fashion since Sunday. Arbogast was declared clinically dead for nearly 30 minutes, so doctors said that is a miracle he is still alive. Surgeons at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola reattached his arm, after it was retrieved from the shark's mouth. Arbogast's uncle wrestled the shark to shore and a park ranger shot and killed it. Doctors, however, are worried about the boy's kidneys and brain, which suffered because of the amount of blood the boy lost. Of the 51 shark attacks in the United States last year, 34 were in the waters off Florida's coastline.
Copyright 2001 by TheSanDiegoChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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