Prognosis positive for man shot in head
Tonight a shooting victim who survived a gunshot wound to the head is talking to the press. From his hospital bed at the K.H.M.H., Anthony Lewis says all he wants is to go home … this, even though he continues to claim that he has no idea why he was attacked. This afternoon attending physician Dr. Joel Cervantes told News Five Lewis is lucky to be alive.
Dr. Joel Cervantes, Head, Neurosurgery, K.H.M.H.
?Wow, I don?t know if it had been somebody else, if he or she would have been here. He is very lucky.?
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It has been eleven days since forty-three year old Anthony Lewis was shot and left to die on his family?s property at Sunset Park on the Western Highway. His injuries left Lewis in semi-conscious state at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital until four days ago. Head of Neurosurgery, Doctor Joel Cervantes, says he is very encouraged by his patient?s progress, but explains it would have been too risky to try and remove the bullet fragments lodged in Lewis? brain.
Dr. Joel Cervantes
?The decision is when you go into surgery you go in to drain the blood clot. Along the way if you find fragments of bone that have been pushed inside or you find metallic fragments from the bullet you take them out, but it was too much of a risk, there were so much brain swelling that once we pull out the blood clot, to be searching around for the bullet fragments would have put his life in danger, so we just left it there. And from my past experience people do have bullet fragments within the brain tissue can survive; they can live as next to normal a life as possible.?
?Well basically the first thing is, he was stabilised both by the emergency technicians outside of the hospital and also the emergency department and immediately he was taken to surgery. And that was very important because then that drained the blood clot and afterwards he got appropriate treatment, medical treatment of course with the help of doctors from the intensive care unit, to be able take down the brain swelling with medical treatment.?
Police have arrested four young men: Kevin Graham, Jovan Tillett, Dwayne Almendarez, and a sixteen year old minor and charged them with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, wounding, dangerous harm, aggravated burglary, and use of deadly means of harm.
Lewis declined to comment on whether he knows the suspects, but vividly recalls what it felt when masked and armed men took him into the bushes.
Anthony Lewis, Recovering from Gunshot Injury
?Well I said the only thing they could do dah just kill me and done and I hear the shot bust and I drop inna the water. Couple hours after, I hear like my sista mi di hail.?
Jacqueline Woods
?You must have felt pretty relieved to hear that familiar voice??
Anthony Lewis
?I mi hear her voice … it tek me a while fi answer and then I decide I wah make it, make a way through.?
Police tell News Five that the incident may have been drug related. But tonight Lewis disputes that claim.
Anthony Lewis
?Well what they want to say they want to say. I just get a shot inna my head and I know I di punish.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Was drugs involved??
Anthony Lewis
?Noh really.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Not really??
Anthony Lewis
?There weren?t any drugs involved. Them bwai dah just some mischievous kids from eight miles. All them house weh they burglarise and thing, dah them same kids deh do it.?
