Doctors at Portland's University Hospital said Wednesday an Oregon man
shot through the skull by a hunting arrow is lucky
to be alive, and will be released soon from the
hospital. Tony Roberts, 25, lost his right eye
last weekend during an initiation into a men's
rafting club, Mountain Men Anonymous, in Grants
Pass,Ore. A friend tried to shoot a beer can off
his head, but the arrow entered Roberts' right
eye. Doctors said had the arrow gone 1 millimeter
to the left, a major blood vessel would have cut
and Roberts would have died instantly.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Johnny Delashaw at the University
Hospital in Portland said the arrow went through 8
to 10 inches of brain, with the tip protruding at
the rear of his skull, yet somehow managed to miss
all major blood vessels. Delashaw also said had
Robert tried to pull the arrow out on his own he
surely would have killed himself. Roberts admitted
afterwards he and his friends had been drinking
that afternoon. Said Roberts, "I feel so
dumb about this." (I would feel 'dumb' too if that
much of my brain had been skewered - KEB)
No charges have been filed but the Josephine County
district attorney's office said the initiation stunt
is under investigation.
