Boy shot in the head is ‘a miracle’
Published: November 9, 2006
Six-year-old Shawn Rulo was near death when he was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center with a gunshot wound in his head.
Now, about a month later, the boy from Washington County who was shot when his father’s rifle accidentally discharged is making an amazing recovery. [Cheap Shots, Ambushes, And Other Lessons: A Down And Dirty Book On Streetfighting & Survival]
His mom calls it a miracle.
Shawn is now walking, talking and eating solid food, his mother and doctor said Friday.
Shawn’s mother, Gena Aubuchon, 25, of Caledonia in Washington County, spoke with reporters Friday at a hospital news conference for the first time since Shawn was shot on Oct. 10.
“He says his ABCs,” Aubuchon said. “He counts. He’s writing his name. He’s just a miracle.”
That’s a vast improvement from Shawn’s condition when he was brought to the hospital on the day of the shooting, said Dr. Adrienne Tilbor, medical director of the rehabilitation unit at Cardinal Glennon.
“He arrived in our emergency room near death,” Tilbor said. “His heart and lungs were working, but there were limited other signs of life at that time.
“His recovery so far is amazing, and he’s made tremendous progress,” she added.
Shawn was in a medically induced coma for several days after the shooting to allow brain swelling to subside, Tilbor said. He gradually regained consciousness and some abilities late last month after being brought out of the coma, the doctor said.
Tilbor declined to make a long-term prognosis for Shawn’s mental abilities but said he probably could make a full physical recovery. He’s already walking with some assistance, talking slowly and eating solid food, the doctor said.
Shawn also is taking only half the medications he needed immediately after brain surgery on Oct. 10 to remove bullet and bone fragments, Tilbor said.
Shawn was moved early this week to Cardinal Glennon’s pediatric rehabilitation unit from a regular hospital room.
Tilbor said she was unsure how much longer Shawn would be in the hospital.
She said Shawn would have more surgery Friday to replace part of his skull that had been temporarily removed to accommodate brain swelling.
She also said it was too soon to tell how much of Shawn’s brain might have been permanently damaged.
“We don’t know at this point how it’s going to affect him intellectually, but young brains are very plastic, so I think there’s a lot of progress that can be made,” Tilbor said.
Shawn’s father, Ricky Rulo Jr., 29, of Cadet in Washington County, is being held in the Washington County Jail at Potosi on a drug-related charge and also on an earlier charge of violating his probation from a previous conviction by possessing the rifle that discharged, wounding Shawn.
Authorities contend that Rulo was impaired by marijuana use when his deer rifle discharged. His bail has been set at $50,000.
Cadet is about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.
Shawn’s stepfather, Patrick Aubuchon, 30, of Caledonia, said he was in Shawn’s hospital room a week ago when Shawn suddenly started speaking in short sentences after only uttering a word or two for a few days after coming out of the coma.
“I was shocked,” Aubuchon said. “I didn’t know what to think. He’s been making so much progress.”
Gena Aubuchon said the family continued to need help with Shawn’s medical bills, and she noted that donations may be made to the Shawn Michael Rulo Fund at any U.S. Bank branch in St. Louis and nearby counties.
“I’d also like to say thanks to everybody who’s been helping us,” she said. “Everyone’s been so helpful.”
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