“It
was like a dog fight,” said Aaron’s father Blas
Perez, describing Aaron’s struggle. The boy hit the shark
the way he had learned from watching a “Discovery Channel” program
the day before. Family friend Don Townes also joined in the
fight.
“Adrenaline
took over,” Mr. Perez said, “I started hitting
the shark with a fishing rod.”
“I
didn’t know what was happening,” recalled Aaron’s
mother, Thelma Perez, who was watching from the shore. “I
just thought they were excited because they had a big fish.
I actually went back to the truck to get a camera.”
The men pulled
Aaron from the water and took him to a nearby fire station,
where a Life Flight helicopter arrived to take him to Memorial
Hermann Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Melissinos
reattached Aaron’s right arm during a 4 ½-hour
surgery that night. The shark had bitten Aaron three times,
shredding his right arm and leaving it connected only by a
fractured bone.
Aaron has
begun physical therapy involving passive range-of-motion exercises,
Dr. Melissinos said. “He’s already ahead of schedule,” the
doctor commented. “He can move his fingers some. He has
the right attitude, and I expect him to do very well.”
Recovery
for similar injuries usually takes six months to a year. No
one knows at this point whether Aaron will gain full function
of his hand, but Dr. Melissinos is optimistic about the boy’s
future.
Dr. Melissinos,
a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Texas
Medical School at Houston, started the microsurgery program
at Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital 25 years ago.
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