Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 5131

quote:

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CRETE, GREECE (Reuters) -- The 20 year old student, whose family asked his name not be revealed, had gone spearfishing at Stavros beach near the northern town of Chania on the island of Crete. His friends realized after some hours that he had not returned and notified lifeguards in the area.

"He was floating upright with water up to his waist, and I reckon he was in this position for about six hours," said lifeguard Stelios Xenakis. "He was conscious and aware of his environment. He couldn't speak and was having trouble breathing."

Xenakis said the meter-long (40 inch) spear from the victim's fishing gun was embedded in his head, entering at his jaw and protruding from the top of his skull.



Neurosurgeons at Chania hospital set to work to remove the spear, and had to call in the help of the fire department to saw off a part of it so they could work around the patient.

After extensive X-rays and scans, the team of doctors needed three hours to remove the arrow, which had passed dangerously near extremely sensitive and important structures in his skull.

They said the most difficult point of the operation was the extraction, due to fears of blood vessels bursting and causing internal bleeding in the brain.

"It passed through many extremely dangerous regions which posed a serious risk to his life," said neurosurgeon Michalis Papadakakis. "Finally, after much precaution, we managed to remove the foreign object without damaging or destroying any of these regions and without creating any problems in the area."

Konstantine Bakopoulos, another member of the surgical team, said the youth's life was saved by just millimeters.

If the spear was just millimeters left or right he may have died or suffered serious brain injury, but it passed through one of the spaces in the brain that are non-functional.

(yeah, that part that he uses to aim)

Bakopoulos said the youth has no health problems whatsoever and does not have to be monitored as there is no future risk. He said the young man was back home and walking and talking normally.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35656

It's like that drunken limey who got an arrow through his eye and right into his skull after he and his mate failed to emulate the William Tell and the apple trick. He lost his eye, but no serious damage to the brain, bizarrely.

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 5131

I don't honestly believe there are ANY non-functional parts of the brain.

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Registered: May 2002
Location: No. California
Posts: 4175

Even with shadocatspin around to prove otherwise?

(What part of his body do you think was functioning when he posted his name in the heiroglyphics thread?)

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: California
Posts: 4252

So was this some really pathetic suicide attempt?

How do you accidentally shoot yourself with a 40" spear?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

Maybe he was holding himself hostage and the ransom note in the bottle wasn't found before the deadline.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Oakland-ish
Posts: 6032

quote:

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Originally posted by BnB
the northern town of Chania on the island of Crete.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 4875

people can actually function 100% normally without most of their brain, theres a disease where you're born with only your cerebelum or somethin and the people can be fully functional still, just act like trolls

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 5131

quote:

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Originally posted by Inky
i went swimming there. topless. glad i wasn't speared.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 2300

Damn.

I'll have to use a bigger spear next time.

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