A 13 year old is laid up in the KHMH recovering after having been brutally beaten last week. The boy, Stanwell Arana, was attacked on Thursday and was found in the vicinity of Elston Kerr street behind the Church of Christ preschool. He was half naked and barely clinging to life. But now after 5 days of treatment doctors at the KHMH are upbeat about his chances for recovery. Chief of the KHMH's medical staff doctor Fernando Cuellar gave the media an update:
Dr. Fernando Cuellar – Chief of Medical Staff KHMH
"He's recovering very slowly. He unfortunately suffered some head injuries. The assault to the head produced some brain swelling and bruises to the brain itself which will take a couple of days to fully go down, the swelling. So he is a bit agitated, restless but we expect him to recover."
"Blunt trauma, there are no lacerations or cuts or anything of the sort. It was bruises and we suspect that it was impacts that he received to the head. It seems to be more with the hand. It seems that had it been with an object it would have produced open wounds and that sort of injury."
"We give him medication to ease his restlessness. We give him medication to reduce the swelling. We give him medication to prevent seizures basically."
Alfonso Noble
"Prognosis for recovery?"
Dr. Fernando Cuellar
"Good, it will take a little bit of time I suspect that he will be hospitalized at least for another week. But for him to be released for him to continue his home care. A medium term recovery probably within the next 3 months. With his age, the brain is young and re-trainable so to speak, much better that somebody a bit older."
While 13 year old Stanwell Arana's, prognosis for recovery is good, of interest is the fact that at his bed side is his 15 year old sister who has an apparent injury to her left eye. The boy's mother reportedly works from early in the morning until late in the evening and we were unable to contact her today. We also understand that the 13 year old boy has had a history with the police department having been detained for various reasons in the past. Included in those detentions is one where he was accused of committing arson. We were unable to ascertain if the social services department is involved in this case.