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Doctors Say They Can Save Elvis’ Legs
The little boy brought to America through Internet
interactivism will make a complete recovery.
Doctors at the Geisinger facility in Danville told reporters today that they were doubtful on first seeing the severity of the wounds that they could save the child's legs. But a detailed examination and X-rays revealed that the care he had received by doctors at the Bihac Regional Hospital in Bosnia had been excellent. The quality of that care, and procedures they could provide, led the Danville surgeons to their conclusion that both legs could be saved.
Today, his doctors said that there was serious damage to Elvis' right leg which had been severly shattered when an unspent rifle grenade exploded among a group of boys, killing Elvis' 12-year-old brother. They have placed the boy on intravenous antibiotics and will perform an initial round of surgery on Friday to drain a large amount of infection from the bone.
According to the hospital, it may take Elvis several months to make a complete recovery and physical therapy will continue when he returns to his village near Bihac.
Through Cynthia Lee's story at Berserkistan, the Internet first brought Elvis' plight to the world's attention and the Net continues to play a role in his recovery. Weis Children's Hospital has established a web page to cover Elvis' case and hospital webmaster Brian Shoop will provide the boy with a computer next week to "enable him to poke around the Internet and play some video games." Shoop has established an EMail address for Elvis who is now, officially, online.
WNEP-TV, the ABC-affiliate serving Northeast Pennsylvania which coordinated relief efforts to bring Elvis to the United States will continue to cover the story on its Internet site. Cynthia Lee, the documentarian who first discovered Elvis while filming "A Wound To The Soul," has accompanied Elvis to Pennsylvania and will file dispatches periodically at Berserkistan. Her story, "Can This Boy's Leg Be Saved?" prompted the worldwide relief effort.
"We're watching the birth of a new kind of interactive humanitarian effort unfold today," said Michael Linder, publisher of Berserkistan. "Between Cynthia Lee’s compassionate drive to do something meaningful for a child victim of war and the heartfelt response of a Pennsylvania community led by its television station and hospital, lies a international web of caring that is unprecedented. It's a lesson to all in humanitarianism on the Internet. Hopefully, it can grow from meeting the needs of a single child to assist all the war-traumatized children of the world," he said.
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DANVILLE, Pennsylvania, July 2 (Berserkistan) -- Doctors at the Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville, say that amputation will not be necessary for 11-year-old Elvis Muhic who was flown to their facility from Bosnia last night. They had feared that the boy, injured by war ordinance 14 months ago, might lose at least one leg, but preliminary exams have given him a "very good" prognosis, according to a hotpital spokesman. Meantime, an EMail address has been set up for Elvis who will undergo a first round of surgery on Friday.
Doctors said they were "astonished" at Elvis' stoic reaction to the pain of his injuries and that he required no medication for pain for the severity of his wounds. "He's living it up," said a hospital spokesman, "It's all pretty confusing to him right now, but he's definately enjoying himself." Volunteers from the Pennsylvania Kiwanis Foundation and others in the Northeast Pennsylvania community have provided Elvis and his father, Ismet, with clothing and support, including a translator. Weis Children's Hospital is also organizing a fundraising campaign to help Elvis family since his father, a furniture maker, is the family's sole means of support.
Berserkistan, Can This Boy's Leg Be Saved? by Cynthia Lee
Berserkistan, How the World Reached Out to Help Elvis by Cynthia Lee
EMail Elvis Muhic
Operation Elvis Janet Weis Children's Hospital at Geisinger
Operation Elvis WNEP-TV 16 for Northeast Pennsylvania
Berserkistan is the world news service of
Pacific Interactive Media Corp.
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