THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9409010546
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SARAH HUNTLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
The surgery lasted 14 hours, stretching past midnight, but the doctors who pieced together 5-year-old Andre Grady's severed nerves were optimistic about the drive-by shooting victim's condition Wednesday morning.
Andre was riding his bike in front of his grandmother's Newport News home Aug. 18 when a bullet ripped through his neck and lodged near his spinal cord. He is paralyzed from the chest down, but the doctors - an international team of microsurgeons - hope this week's operation will help Andre regain use of his right arm. Andre's left arm was not affected by the shooting.
``He's doing well,'' said Carol C. Torgeson, a spokeswoman for the International Institute of Reconstructive Microsurgery, the Norfolk-based medical organization that sponsored and performed Andre's operation. ``He seems to be comfortable, but he is wearing a brace. We don't want any kind of disruption to the arm.''
As expected, the surgeons found the bullet tore a pathway through the network of nerves that controls the boy's right arm. Torgeson said the doctors repaired as many nerves as they could, but had to remove nerves from Andre's right leg to bridge some of the larger gaps. They also removed the bullet.
Twenty-three medical specialists assisted in the procedure, which began after noon Tuesday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
With the surgery behind him, Andre faces a healing process that may take as long as a year, doctors said. According to Torgeson, he is recovering in the pediatric intensive care unit of Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. Andre will undergo rehabilitation in Richmond.
``There's a lot to do to prepare this young boy for a wheelchair,'' Torgeson said, listing the muscles that need to be strengthened. ``They will teach him to be a paraplegic.''
The international institute was founded 18 months ago by Dr. Julia K. Terzis. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
FINANCIAL HELP NEEDED
The International Institute of Reconstructive Microsurgery is
raising funds to cover Andre Grady's surgery. Costs total $26,000.
Donations can be sent to I.I.R.M., 330 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk,
VA 23510.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING DRIVE-BY SHOOTING INJURIES by CNB