In October of last year Luis Armando Ibanez was savagely attacked by a couple of teenagers who chopped him five times to the head, amputated his left arm and severed his right middle finger. It was reported to be a case of missing identity, police quickly arrested and charged an 18 year old and a 19 year old. While they now await trial, the story is far from over for the victim. We today found Ibanez as he was about to be discharged from Universal Health Services and he explains that he's just now trying to get his life back together.
From 7NEWS Archive: October 23, 2006
"24-year-old Luis Armando Ibanez reported that sometime around 2 on Sunday morning he was in the area of Daly Street when two men of Hispanic descent chased him. Upon reaching an area in front of the Insurance Corporation of Belize construction site, the men caught up with him chopping him to the head, body and his left hand and right middle and ring finger were severed. Ibanez was taken to the KHMH where he is recovering."
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
"Where he is recovering..." it sounds so simple, but what do those words really mean? For 24-year-old Luis Armando Ibanez, it has meant four months of difficult and painful recovery. The attack left him maimed, but he could be dead and neurosurgeon Dr. Joel Cervantes calls his recovery miraculous.
Dr. Joel Cervantez,
"He had a condition whereby he had a brain infection in the form of a meningitis and he also had a very active leak of the water that is normally inside the brain. After the infection was taken care of, then he had surgery to reconstruct a bag that separates the brain tissue. Of course in this case he doesn't have bone in that region due to the nature of injuries. Because of initial injury, which is due to the chop wounds with the machete, he developed a brain abscess, a very life threatening brain abscess.
The first condition, meningitis, and the leak were something very critical but a brain abscess, which was approximately four millimeters from the ventricle water canal was even more life threatening. Emergency surgery was done on him at that point which was appropriately seven to eight weeks ago and we are a bit astonished because legally for a three day period, Mr. Ibanez was legally, medically, dead.
So it is a little bit odd because definitely there is something in question for him in life. I don't what it is, something very positive. I also know that his family prays a lot, I have been a witness to that. And from a scientific point, I don't have an explanation of what comes. He came back from what myself and my colleague had described as being dead."
But Ibanez pulled through after receiving 5 surgeries, three at the KHMH and two at Universal Health Services under Cervantez. Today the 24 year old can smile and thanks god that he's still around after an incredible ordeal.
Luis Armando Ibanez,
"I got chopped in my hand and my head that was really bad. My head was the worse one and I lost a finger on my hand. Its been a long while but I'll make it and I feel good that I am still alive and I am glad that God has served me and Dr. Cervantez had tried his best to keep me on."
But while Cervantez has done much, Luis Ibanez still has a ways to go before he makes a full recovery. He still needs two more surgeries.
Dr. Joel Cervantez,
"He still needs two other surgical interventions, operations as such. He needs one whereby we construct the bag that covers the brain, that portion that is missing as such which is a very important defect, approximately an right centimeter defect. That will have to be done in the future as soon as he is over a course oral antibiotics and we are sure there won't be any infection and afterwards we have to consider what we call a cranioplasty whereby we reconstruct the cranial vault which in he has lost bone. We cannot replace bone, there we can put a synthetic material which looks like a plastic, in some cases metal, but in this case it will be a plastic so that his brain is protected from external injuries."
That may be for at least another six months and for now this 24 year old must confront the reality that he's permanently disabled.
Luis Armando Ibanez,
"I'll see what will happen. I don't know. I hope, Social Security is my only hope that I have because I think I cannot work now. It is a miracle because several times I almost died but I still made it."
Social Security is taking care of all the medical expenses which to have so far mounted to over $100,000.
