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Shark Victim May Escape Brain Damage

Boy Appears To Be Responding To Family

Doctors treating an 8-year-old boy nearly killed by a shark say that his brain may not have been damaged from blood loss after the attack. Jessie Arbogast sometimes appears to understand what's going on around him, according to the medical team that reattached his arm after a 200-pound bull shark attacked him. "We're proceeding with the lovely words of cautious optimism," the boy's chief surgeon said in an interview Sunday morning on NBC's "Today" show. "Everyday, we seem to progress a little bit further,'' Dr. Juliet DeCampos said that the boy appears to be responding to family and doctors after days of being in what was described as a light coma. "The doctors at the pediatric ICU have been saying that he's been moving to command,'' she said. "But yesterday was the first time that one of the family members told us that he squeezed his hand in response to being asked, so that was very good news.'' Jessie's recovery has been helped by the boy's relatives, DeCampos said. "We're having the family do the range of motion exercises," she said. "I've tried to teach all of them individually that they can touch Jessie's hand, and talk to him about that, so that he realizes his arm is there." On July 6, Jessie was attacked at the Gulf Islands National Seashore as he played in knee-deep water at dusk. He lost nearly all his blood, which damaged his organs. While he was still listed in critical condition Sunday at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital, a report on the hospital's Web site indicated he might be clear of brain damage. "Brain swelling or the ongoing risk of neurological death is no longer a concern," the update said. Jessie's neurologist, Dr. Ben Renfroe, has been monitoring Jessie's EEG (brain activity) and reported no evidence of brain trauma. Jessie's favorite candy bar may have brought more progress in communicating. DeCampos said that the boy's grandfather told her that Jessie "would do anything for a Snickers bar.'' "So I gave that a shot,"the doctor said. "I brought in a Snickers bar and I saw Jessie's eyes were open and so I dangled it before him, and his eyes fixed on that Snickers bar, and sort of followed it around, and he almost seemed to try and form a word like 'Give me that Snickers bar,'" DeCampos said. "But he didn't actually say that, I'm sorry."

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Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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