CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A 10-year-old Lincoln County boy who accidentally became entangled in a rope and nearly hanged himself briefly opened his eyes but has not yet spoken, his uncle said early this morning.
Jake Hughes is listed in critical condition at Cabell Huntington Hospital. Doctors say Hughes is progressing faster than they expected, but still has a long way to go.
Jake Hughes remained in critical condition this morning.
"He is progressing sooner than they thought," said his uncle, Jeff Hughes.
"They still can't determine his condition until he can talk. Nobody knows how long he was without oxygen.
"All his vital signs and tests are good. His motor skills are good. There are no erratic movements.
"He is just resting. They still have him on a ventilator. It is turned down low and he is breathing on his own.
"They don't want to remove it until he wakes up. He is not on sedation. He is improving."
Jake was swinging from a rope attached to a tree in the yard of his home near Harts on Monday evening when the accident occurred, his uncle said.
The rope had once been attached to a tire to make a swing but the tire was recently removed, Hughes said. The rope was used to swing over a chain link fence to reach the yard of a girl who lived next door.
"They played on it and used it to cross the fence," Hughes said. "The fence is 32 or 36 inches high. He played with the little girl next door. They had been at her house."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A 10-year-old Lincoln County boy who accidentally became entangled in a rope and nearly hanged himself briefly opened his eyes but has not yet spoken, his uncle said early this morning.
Jake Hughes remained in critical condition this morning.
"He is progressing sooner than they thought," said his uncle, Jeff Hughes.
"They still can't determine his condition until he can talk. Nobody knows how long he was without oxygen.
"All his vital signs and tests are good. His motor skills are good. There are no erratic movements.
"He is just resting. They still have him on a ventilator. It is turned down low and he is breathing on his own.
"They don't want to remove it until he wakes up. He is not on sedation. He is improving."
Jake was swinging from a rope attached to a tree in the yard of his home near Harts on Monday evening when the accident occurred, his uncle said.
The rope had once been attached to a tire to make a swing but the tire was recently removed, Hughes said. The rope was used to swing over a chain link fence to reach the yard of a girl who lived next door.
"They played on it and used it to cross the fence," Hughes said. "The fence is 32 or 36 inches high. He played with the little girl next door. They had been at her house."
A loop remained in the rope that was once used to attach the tire for the swing.
The little girl had gone inside her house when Jake apparently tried to use the rope to swing over the fence and return to his home. Somehow, his neck got caught in the loop.
It was about 6 p.m. Monday when Jake's cousin, Jeremy Lowe, found him with the loop of the rope tangled around his neck. Lowe, who lives nearby, rushed to Jake's assistance and called for help.
Jake's grandmother made a 911 call while Jake's father cut the rope from around his son's neck and began administering CPR, Hughes said.
Jake was taken to Logan General Hospital and then airlifted to Cabell Huntington Hospital, Hughes said.
Jake, the son of James and Beverly Hughes, will be a fifth-grader at Harts Middle School in the fall.
Jake is an outdoor enthusiast who loves fishing and basketball. He is a straight A student.
Jake had been attending basketball camp. The other children at the camp signed a basketball and took it to the hospital last night, when it was placed on Jake's bed.
"It was a freak accident," said Jeff Hughes, who is the brother of Jake's father. "We need your prayers."
For Jake and his family...what a freak accident. As a mother, my heart goes out as I can only imagine the torture that his parents must be enduring. This is not a time to question their parenting. Most kids are going to be adventerous by nature and as parents we have to decide what is too far. I'm sure that the parents felt the kids weren't in danger by swinging on the rope. I know I swung on many ropes as a child. I can even remember playgrounds that had climbing ropes.
A MOM(9:26pm 07-23-2008)
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I hope he fully recovers.
What I'd like to know though is WHY did the parents allow their children to repeatedly swing over the fence?
TiredOfTheBS(3:34pm 07-23-2008)
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Again, fighting over the way something is printed in the paper. If people actually cared about things, they would be praying for the child instead of bitching about grammatical errors.
I Read(2:54pm 07-23-2008)
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Hanged is used to refer to an execution. As in, "The prisoner was hanged for his crimes."
Hung is used otherwise as appropriate in sentence structure.
What I'd like to know though is WHY did the parents allow their children to repeatedly swing over the fence?
Hung is used otherwise as appropriate in sentence structure.