An 8-year-old shark attack victim remained in critical condition Wednesday, offering few signs of whether he will ever recover. Jessie Arbogast was in a coma at a Pensacola hospital, although one of his doctors said he moved the arm that was reattached after a shark tore it from his body last week.
Jessie has not regained consciousness since the attack, but doctors say he occasionally has opened his eyes.
The big question is whether Jessie can rebound from massive blood loss that robbed his brain and other organs of oxygen, risking serious damage. Already his kidneys have been impaired, and he needs a ventilator to breathe.
Although the body has an amazing ability to recover from such assaults, harm comes quickly once its limits are reached.
“You’re always fighting against some horrible bottom line where there is an unacceptable loss of blood,” said Ronald Hayes, a professor of neuroscience and director of the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Studies at the University of Florida. “You can’t accomplish miracles when too much blood is lost.”
In cases such as Jessie’s, the body responds to the loss of a limb immediately with its own damage-control system. Blood vessels throughout the body are tightened to slow the outpouring of blood and reduce the amount needed to keep circulation going.
If the victim continues to lose blood, the heart will pump faster and harder to keep circulation going. The body also will play favorites, preferentially sending blood to its most vital organs, the brain and heart.
People lose consciousness if blood flow to the brain drops dramatically. Damage can occur in as little as four minutes after circulation stops, said Dr. Michael Cheatham, a trauma surgeon and director of surgical intensive care at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Other organs will begin to shut down, and death can follow. Jessie arrived at the hospital with no pulse or blood pressure.
