Boy bat beaten into coma awakes, recovers
Published: November 4, 2005
A 13-year-old boy who was beaten with a baseball bat is out of a coma and will be allowed to leave the hospital for a fundraiser that will help cover his hospital costs.
Michael Duong is very excited to see his friends and those who’ve been rooting for him, the boy’s family said. The fundraiser was planned for Saturday at Highland Park Junior High School.
Until about three weeks ago, having Michael walk, talk or simply squeeze a hand seemed like a distant hope for relatives, said his aunt, Huong Duong. Now, she can confidently tell her three sons that their cousin will be home soon.
“You just don’t know what it does to my heart when I ask him to squeeze my hand and he does it,” she said Thursday. “I can’t even describe it.”
Prosecutors say Michael and a family friend were the victims of an unprovoked attack by gang members.
Two Sureno 13 gang members are charged with attempted first-degree murder for the benefit of a gang, first-degree assault for the benefit of a gang and second-degree assault for the benefit of the gang.
Michael’s aunt said that when he began talking, he told her that it was “terrible” that he could be mistaken as a gang member.”
During a police interrogation, one of the defendants claimed that Michael flashed a gang sign before the attack, but investigators said there is no evidence to support that allegation.
Michael still needs a help walking but is well enough to get occasional passes to visit relatives outside Gillette Children’s Hospital.
“He has made almost a miraculous recovery and, in fact, he’ll be coming back to school sooner than expected,” said Theresa Battle, the principal at the junior high, where Michael attended seventh grade for three weeks before the attack.
Battle said Michael could return next month and has been working with a teacher daily in the hospital for short spells around his physical therapy. Battle said she visited him during his second week in the hospital, when he was still in a coma and critical condition.
“He’s such a strong young boy,” Battle said.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: