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| Miami face-eating victim: doctors give news conference – live coverage | Miami face-eating victim: doctors give news conference – live coverage |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 1.47pm: Local NBC News has further details from the news conference on the condition of Ronald Poppo. In general the patient is doing "very well," doctors said: | |
| Surgeon Wrood Kassira said Poppo's left eye was "essentially destroyed" and had to be removed, and his right eye has been covered with a flap of his own tissue in an attempt to salvage it. He can't see as of now but there is some hope that he may recover some vision, Kassira said. | |
| "He is missing features that identified who he was before this trauma," Kassira said, adding that Poppo is missing a significant part of his nose. "He will need multiple surgeries in the future for reconstruction." | |
| 1.41pm: We've been following Esteban Illades, who is live-tweeting the Jackson Memorial news conference in Spanish. | |
| Here's a revelation: Doctors are not ruling out the possibility that Poppo was shot. | |
| Poppo's doctors say he has two holes on the left side of his chest. They could be entry and exit wounds. | |
| One detail of the attack that has not been fully explained is how police shot and killed Eugene, who was reportedly lying on top of Poppo, without hitting the victim. | |
| It now appears a bullet may have hit Poppo. | |
| 1.36pm: Poppo will stay at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial for "weeks at least," according to trauma chief Dr. Namias. He has reportedly received no family visits at this point. | |
| Poppo has a long-lost, 44-year-old daughter living in New Jersey who had not seen him since she was a toddler and who didn't know whether he was alive, the New York Daily News reported last week: | |
| "I'm really upset because I haven't met my father," [Janice Poppo DiBello] told the Daily News while walking her family dog near their Morris County home. | |
| "Since I was 2 years old, him and my mom got divorced and there was no — like how normal divorces are, where you see your father," Poppo DiBello continued from behind a pair of sunglasses. "Nobody ever heard anything from him, so I've never met him. | |
| "I didn't know if he was alive or dead." | |
| 1.27pm: Doctors won't know whether Poppo will be a candidate for a face transplant until his wounds heal. Poppo would have to decide about such a surgery, his doctors say. | |
| Local CBS News has published a graphic image of Poppo on his feet, being led by his doctors. Warning: graphic. | |
| 1.23pm: Poppo knows that Rudy Eugene, his 31-year-old attacker, was shot dead by police, Poppo's surgeon says. He also knows what state he himself is in. His recuperation will be taken day by day. | |
| Poppo, who is in stable condition, has told the doctors that he likes to swim, and he hopes to recover enough to do so. He has had three surgeries so far and it is not known how many more he will need. He has had skin grafted onto his face. | |
| 1.17pm: We are following Esteban Illades and others live-tweeting a news conference on the condition of Ronald Poppo, the victim of a face-eating attack in Miami. | |
| Poppo can't see at this time, his plastic surgeon says. Risk of infection continues to concern doctors, despite Poppo's stable condition. | |
| And this is quite a tidbit, relayed by the surgeon. | |
| Although he remembers the horrifying attack, Poppo evidently has a good attitude and has moments of high spirit. | |
| He had a message 15 minutes before the news conference: Go Heat! | |
| The Miami Heat are about to go into the NBA finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. | |
| 1.11pm: The news conference has begun. | |
| "Mr. Poppo is very good. He's eating and drinking water," said Dr. Nicholas Namias, the head of the trauma unit at Jackson Memorial. | |
| Poppo's plastic surgeon says many more operations are needed, but first Poppo must recover from the initial procedures. | |
| 1.09pm: We are waiting for the news conference to begin. | 1.09pm: We are waiting for the news conference to begin. |
| Family and friends described the attacker, Ruby Eugene, as religious. In fact he appears to have been carrying a Bible with him at the time of the attack. Torn out pages from the Bible were found scattered around the scene afterwards, Jim Defede of CBS News in Miami reported. | Family and friends described the attacker, Ruby Eugene, as religious. In fact he appears to have been carrying a Bible with him at the time of the attack. Torn out pages from the Bible were found scattered around the scene afterwards, Jim Defede of CBS News in Miami reported. |
| 1.01pm: Reporter Esteban Illades is live-tweeting the news conference in Spanish. He links to newly released, extremely graphic photos of the victim after some treatment. | 1.01pm: Reporter Esteban Illades is live-tweeting the news conference in Spanish. He links to newly released, extremely graphic photos of the victim after some treatment. |
| Doctors have said that Poppo lost nearly 80 percent of his face, including one eye, in the attack. | Doctors have said that Poppo lost nearly 80 percent of his face, including one eye, in the attack. |
| 12.58pm: Authorities have released 9-1-1 tapes from the violent attack on Poppo. | 12.58pm: Authorities have released 9-1-1 tapes from the violent attack on Poppo. |
| Motorists and a bicyclist placed emergency calls to report a naked man throwing his clothes into traffic and acting erratically. Then the calls describe the attack. | Motorists and a bicyclist placed emergency calls to report a naked man throwing his clothes into traffic and acting erratically. Then the calls describe the attack. |
| "There's a naked man on the MacArthur Parkway," said a municipal bus driver. "He is beating another man to a pulp, like on top of the man, beating him. The man is bleeding. He's gonna kill that man, I promise you." | "There's a naked man on the MacArthur Parkway," said a municipal bus driver. "He is beating another man to a pulp, like on top of the man, beating him. The man is bleeding. He's gonna kill that man, I promise you." |
| 12.45pm ET: We're beginning live blog coverage of a news conference on the condition of the victim of a face-eating attack in Miami last month. The conference is expected to start at 1pm ET at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. | 12.45pm ET: We're beginning live blog coverage of a news conference on the condition of the victim of a face-eating attack in Miami last month. The conference is expected to start at 1pm ET at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. |
| Doctors treating Ronald Poppo, a homeless man whose face was chewed off in the May 26 attack, are preparing to give an update on Poppo's condition. The doctors will be speaking at a news conference at the Ryder Trauma Center, where Poppo has been receiving skin grafts and other treatment. | Doctors treating Ronald Poppo, a homeless man whose face was chewed off in the May 26 attack, are preparing to give an update on Poppo's condition. The doctors will be speaking at a news conference at the Ryder Trauma Center, where Poppo has been receiving skin grafts and other treatment. |
| A funeral was held Saturday for the attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, who was shot dead by police when he ignored their commands to stop the assault. Family and friends at the two-hour memorial service remembered Eugene as a generous man with a strong faith. The Miami Herald reported on the service: | A funeral was held Saturday for the attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, who was shot dead by police when he ignored their commands to stop the assault. Family and friends at the two-hour memorial service remembered Eugene as a generous man with a strong faith. The Miami Herald reported on the service: |
| This was Rudy Eugene, 31, who was "the type of person who would give you his last,'' his younger brother, Markenson Charles, said to the crowd of about 150. "If he had it, it was yours." | This was Rudy Eugene, 31, who was "the type of person who would give you his last,'' his younger brother, Markenson Charles, said to the crowd of about 150. "If he had it, it was yours." |
| Charles described a big brother who would pay his cell phone bill, and even throw in a little extra cash when money was tight. | Charles described a big brother who would pay his cell phone bill, and even throw in a little extra cash when money was tight. |
| "Those are the moments I cherish the most, him being a big brother to me," Charles said. | "Those are the moments I cherish the most, him being a big brother to me," Charles said. |
| Read more here. | Read more here. |
| It is unknown what caused Eugene to attack Poppo. An autopsy revealed that Eugene had undigested pills in his stomach at the time of the attack. His blood tested positive for marijuana use. | It is unknown what caused Eugene to attack Poppo. An autopsy revealed that Eugene had undigested pills in his stomach at the time of the attack. His blood tested positive for marijuana use. |
| Eugene's car had apparently broken down in Miami Beach hours earlier, and he decided to walk along the miles-long MacArthur Causeway into downtown Miami. Poppo lived along the roadway. | Eugene's car had apparently broken down in Miami Beach hours earlier, and he decided to walk along the miles-long MacArthur Causeway into downtown Miami. Poppo lived along the roadway. |