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Teen's Head Nearly Ripped Off. He's Still Alive
Teen's Head Ripped Off. He's Still Alive
This is a story about a medical miracle. Four months ago, a drunk driver in Phoenix, Arizona slammed into 18-year-old Marcos Parra's vehicle with such brutal force that the impact ripped off his head. It actually detached from his body with only some skin and vital internal circuits remaining in place, reports ABCNews.com of the gruesome accident. Somehow Marcos didn't die immediately. I just remembered hearing someone screaming," he told ABC's "Good Morning America." "They said it was my friend, but I can't tell you because I wasn't there 100 percent." The doctors in the hospital emergency room to which Marcos was rushed had never seen such an injury before in someone who was still alive. He also had a broken clavicle, pelvis, tail bone, and ribs.
ABCNews.com explains that the human skull is attached to the neck by a thick ligament that runs from the base to the first vertebra. Marcos' head was ripped forward and that force ripped the ligament, which created a gaping hole between the head and the neck. The bone was also separated where the skull was ripped from the cervical spine and that is what detached the head from the neck. Amazingly, the spinal cord and arteries were not damaged.
Doctors performed a miracle. They reattached his head using surgical screws and a piece of his pelvis to patch the neck and skull together, reports ABCNews.com. Marcos had to wear a halo brace to help his neck heal and underwent hundreds of hours of rehabilitation. And today? Marcos is playing basketball.
This is a story about a medical miracle. Four months ago, a drunk driver in Phoenix, Arizona slammed into 18-year-old Marcos Parra's vehicle with such brutal force that the impact ripped off his head. It actually detached from his body with only some skin and vital internal circuits remaining in place, reports ABCNews.com of the gruesome accident. Somehow Marcos didn't die immediately. I just remembered hearing someone screaming," he told ABC's "Good Morning America." "They said it was my friend, but I can't tell you because I wasn't there 100 percent." The doctors in the hospital emergency room to which Marcos was rushed had never seen such an injury before in someone who was still alive. He also had a broken clavicle, pelvis, tail bone, and ribs.
ABCNews.com explains that the human skull is attached to the neck by a thick ligament that runs from the base to the first vertebra. Marcos' head was ripped forward and that force ripped the ligament, which created a gaping hole between the head and the neck. The bone was also separated where the skull was ripped from the cervical spine and that is what detached the head from the neck. Amazingly, the spinal cord and arteries were not damaged.
Doctors performed a miracle. They reattached his head using surgical screws and a piece of his pelvis to patch the neck and skull together, reports ABCNews.com. Marcos had to wear a halo brace to help his neck heal and underwent hundreds of hours of rehabilitation. And today? Marcos is playing basketball.
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