Doctors: assault victim making slow recovery

Armed with a physical description, Belize City Police continue to look for the prime suspect in the vicious attack of thirteen year old Stanwell Arana. The teenager was found unconscious lying in a grassy area behind the Church of Christ building on Elston Kerr Street. Today Arana remains in the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and that is where News 5 caught up with the Medical Chief of Staff, Dr. Fernando Cuellar. Cuellar says their young patient has been making a slow recovery but he remains in an agitated state.

Dr. Fernando Cuellar, Medical Chief of Staff, KHMH

?He is recovering slowly. He unfortunately suffered some head injuries. The assault to the head produced some brain swelling and bruises to the brain itself which would take a couple of days to fully go down; the swelling. So he is a bit agitated and restless but we expect him to recover.?

Jacqueline Woods

?This morning when we visited him, he was moaning, this is as a result of what??

Dr. Fernando Cuellar

?Restlessness because of the same brain swelling; we would call it more agitation, where there is no coherency. So it does look at times like he would scream and make noises and not be coherent. But unfortunately that is a direct consequence of the injuries to the head.?

?I would suspect that he will be hospitalized at least for another week, but for him to be released to continue his home care and a medium term recovery would be probably within the next three months.?

Jacqueline Woods

?What care is he receiving here??

Dr. Fernando Cuellar

?We give him medication to ease his restlessness. We give him medication to reduce his swelling and also to prevent seizures.?

Doctor Cuellar says because there were no lacerations or severe open wounds to Arana?s head they believe based on the injuries he received, the suspect beat Arana with his hands