Posted on 12/09/2013 7:28:03 PM PST by DManA
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A North Dakota teen’s father calls it a miracle that his son survived — and is doing so well — after being shot in the eye in a hunting accident.
On Monday, Russell MacDonald and his 14-year-old son, Kaelin, spoke about the frightening accident and the surgery that saved the young hunter’s life.
On Nov. 17, Kaelin was accidentally shot by a family friend while pheasant hunting. Russ rushed over to Kaelin and saw a shotgun pellet had hit him in the face.
“The other gentleman to the right of me yelled, ‘Kaelin is down,’” Russ said. “I can’t explain the helplessness a person feels. I never felt like that before.” [snip]
He was then flown to the Twin Cities where doctors at United Hospital determined the pellet in his brain was disrupting critical blood flow.
Dr. Eric Nussbaum performed the delicate surgery rerouting a critical brain artery by-passing the shotgun pellet, which surgeons left in Kaelin’s brain.
Russ and Kaelin say they will be forever grateful to the team of doctors at United Hospital in St. Paul who performed the rare surgery. Kaelin is already almost back to normal.
Kaelin can take off the eye-patch, which helps him deal with double vision, which his team of doctors believes will eventually go away.
“I am extremely grateful to Nussbaum and Graupman for helping me I can talk to you guys,” Kaelin said.
Russ says he and Kaelin will do everything they can in the future to promote hunting safety. They are on their way back home right now.
Kaelin says he is bummed that doctors have told him he can’t snowboard or wrestle this winter. His dad said considering everything that is a small price to pay.
(Excerpt) Read more at minnesota.cbslocal.com ...
Amazingly he can still see out of the eye.
Sometimes you’re the hunter, other times you become the huntee.
:)
My brother took bird shot in his butt once. They guy who did it felt soooooo bad. I felt worse for him than my brother.
Don’t go hunting with anyone named Cheney...
Ahh, that’s good of you. That can happen. The inflictER is in worse shape than the inflictED! Hope your brother was bottoms up fine soon THEREAFTER.
Neat story.
Thank God his his Obamacare hadn’t yet kicked in.
“Don’t go hunting with anyone named Cheney...”
As he has learned the lesson I would feel safe.
Something that cannot be said of my elk hunting buddies...
*smile
"We are very sorry to inform you that your Obamacare coverage does not extend to successful surgery performed by competent surgeons. The government-prescribed treatment for your son would have been fifteen minutes of chanting by an Obamacare-certified witch doctor followed by application of a leech."
Clearly we need more stringent bow control laws!!!!!
Snark aside, amazing that the kid is going to not lose the eye.
They left the pellet in his brain?
No more sports.
Hope your brother was bottoms up fine soon THEREAFTER.
I think he’s still got a few bbs back there but he flies a lot and seems to get through the scanners ok.
That pellet is going to give the TSA fits every time he goes through an airport.
Are MRI’s possible with metal in your brain?
Today a four year old was accidentally shot by his 14 year old cousin with what they are calling a BB gun. I guess it could be one of those .177 pellet guns you pump up and will also shoot BBs.
This happened near Freeport which is the area I grew up in.
They first treated him at Bay Medical Center then flew him to Shands in Gainesville. He is said to be in critical condition.
I sure hope he is OK.
When my cousin was a kid he was running with a BB gun, tripped, and shot himself in the head. BB went through his temple and bounced around a couple of times and came to rest in his speech center. Couldn’t talk for a couple of days but he came out of it perfectly fine.
Doctors removed a portion of his skull to relieve the swelling. He just had skin covering his brain for a few months. He discovered if he grunted he could make the skin bulge out. Drove his mother crazy.
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