3/20/2003: Guy shot with harpoon

Via Feces Flinging Monkey comes the story of a 15-year-old Brit named Matthew, who got involved in street fighting and found himself on the wrong end of a harpoon gun. Suddenly there was a spear entering his face and skull, in three different locations.

But he lived!



He had the presence of mind to sit down, rather than fall. It took them 14 hours to work out how to remove the barbs from his face, during which time he was conscious; another 7 hours to remove the prongs and a second operation to remove his eye.

This won't count in the gun violence statistics, so happily Britain remains a non-violent land.

thats a tough kid. read somewhere that he wanted to go into boxing before this happened. he kind of reminds me of a younger bullet-tooth tony.

~james

I'm reminded of Phineas Gage, but the harpoon definitely has a higher bragability factor to it.

Street fighting with a HARPOON GUN?! Looks like a right thug.

Phineas Gage is facinating, amazing what a pole though the frontal lobe can do.

He is indeed interesting, and has at least a mention in nearly every introductory psychology textbook here in the states ...

I think *anywhere*.
I mean it's pretty hard to find examples of people that have
a: had large chunks taken out of the only part of brain that won't kill them.
b: survived.
Considering how close the frontal lobe is the somatasensory cortex (i think that's right, been a looong time since i looked at this stuff) i'm suprised he didn't suffer some loss of movement/senses. Argh i'm sure wolf at least knows what i mean, the bit between the frontal lobe and one behind it....
I give up.

I'll give up with you ... I haven't the vaguest bloodly clue either, but I suppose I could google it ... if I cared.

Neuroanatomy is not my strong suit ... also, I don't get much contact with any of the cool, fancy, diagnostic tests or anything like that where I might be prompted to actually learn this stuff.

I'm the equivalent of a field EMT or paramedic in the psych business ... if somebody looks crazy, they're crazy ... I patch 'em up and keep 'em breathing long enough to get them to a "real" doctor.

yes, I know what's wrong with them, and what will probably help in the long term, but I don't do those parts ... kinda of like a paramedic has an understanding of anatomy, but doesn't perform surgery.

reminds me of the road rage case in Phoenix where someone was shot with a crossbow. But I imagine this kid was asking for it a little more than a rude driver. either way, who carries a harpoon gun around? Ahab the gangbanger?