E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAfter accidentally being shot with a BB gun by his brother, a 12-year-old boy learns to live with a BB lodged in his brain. WFLA-TV's Peter Bernard reports.
OK, so maybe no one shot anyone's eye out. But 12-year-old Tommy Gallagher now lives with a bullet lodged in his brain after his little brother, Jamie, shot him with a BB gun.
Tommy feels OK now, but the Tampa, Fla., seventh grader has lost full control of his left leg and arm since the accident, when the BB bullet went through his eye (his eye!) and ended up in the right side of his brain. When the boys' mother, Janice Gallagher, found the two after it happened, the younger boy was horrified over what he'd accidentally done to his big brother, tearfully telling his mom, "I'm so sorry, break my guns, put me in time out!"
At first, Gallagher thought the bullet must have bounced off Tommy's face -- until the boy couldn't move his left arm or leg, and the family visited the St. Joseph's emergency room. There, the neurosurgeon told them there was a bullet in the boy's brain -- and that there was no way to safely operate and remove the bullet, so there the BB would stay.
Tommy faces months of rehab, but recently, he was able to move his left arm. His mother says, "We're just grateful that he's alive. we've thrown out the guns. it's gone. so, that's my message."
Want more weird health news? Find The Body Odd on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
I, too, am grateful that the boy is still alive and am sorry to hear about the complications resulting from the injury (paralysis, etc...). I do find it concerning that the mother blames the incident on the gun, however, since it is clearly her lack of responsibility that is at fault. Since she 'found the two after it happened', it is safe to assume that she wasn't present while it occurred, a clear indication that she allowed her young children to play with BB guns in an unsupervised environment. A BB gun is not a toy and should never be treated as such. I'm glad to hear they've gotten rid of the guns, as it is obvious that this family lacks the common sense that responsible gun ownership and use requires. What a tough way to learn that lesson!
Tough way to learn that guns aren't toys, but I gotta agree. This is why you teach kids to use tools as tools and keep an eye on them.
Very well put. Lets all forget about the negligent mother in this story and just worry about the "real" issue. Guns. Just one more story the government will site later when they are trying to take our guns... Be responsible parents and your younger child wont shoot your older one in the face. It has nothing to do with the BB gun. The younger one could just as easily have pushed his brother off a railroad bridge they could have been playing on unsupervised... Would people blame the bridge for that??? No. They would blame the negligent parents.
Wow, lucky little guy, I pray he recovers fully from his injury. Too bad the parent/s weren't responsible enough to be watching their children when they're handling a weapon. A 12 year old has no business using a gun without adult supervision. No doubt this will bring out the anti-gun crowd in droves all blaming it on the gun while ignoring the obvious lack of parenting abilities displayed by the mother, no mention of the dad so who even knows if there is one around.
Too bad these boys will be taught that the lesson is about how bad guns are rather than having been taught how to use a weapon in the first place. Janice Gallagher gets my vote for Mom of the Year, NOT!
Well you just cant watch kids every single minute. How do you know that she didn't teach these boys to be careful? Having raised 3, I can tell you that its easy to criticize a parent, until you have been one. Boys especially, will find a way to throw safety out the window, no matter what you tell them. It was very lucky the BB didn't hit the Optic Chiasm, or the Amygdala, but went straight to the motor strip, where the brain is now growing new connections so the boy can move that side of his body. Ease up people, this looks like a very good mother to me.
Dude teach your kids whatever you want. But if you give a 12 year old a BB gun you should be watching him with it. I don't care what you told him. HES 12. Like you said they WILL find a way to be unsafe. Thats why if you are going to give him a BB gun you should be supervising the use of said gun. Because at that age you cant count on the safety tips you taught them sticking. The mother IS at fault here. Its not the BB guns fault. The gun is a tool. The user makes the mistake. And in this case the user is a little too young to take full blame. So it is then the supplier's fault. That would be mommy.
Much agreed, Mark. I having passed several different Marksman Classes, Safety was always Number One Lessons tought. Supervision was next. Noone wishes to downsize Parenthood Vexes, but that being said, noone should ever downsize ans neglect Parenthood Responsibilities either. She has two young Sons that played with a Weapon. Safety. Were they properly tought without cutting Edges, like many Parents do, as not to come across as overbearing or boring, and two: Supervision, now this, we already know the Answer to. Maybe if they had been a little older, we could minimise Rule Number Two or Supervision, but since he was twelve at the Time of Inicident, he should have been at Least looked through from the Window. Better yet, perhaps the Elder of the two Sons was educated and could be trusted, since the Younger fired the Shot. Downrange Safety: always point the Weapon downrange, never uprange, and never at People or Animals when practisinge, since they were not hunting with a BB Gun. Unfortunate, it doesn't sound as the Duo will be taught the appropriate Lesson previously stated, the truest Lesson is Safety and Supervision. Tools are Tools, no Matter the Caliber, and Supervision is required, and especially until it is proven that they may be allowed some Independance. Instead, the true Moral of the Story should be in my Eyes: Weapons are not Toys, no Matter the Caliber or Size, Parents must train and supervise their Children and when operating such Tools, and follow Safety Regulations in every Aspect to the "T". Others I hope will read this and use Common Sense when percieving the actual Message behind this Story, and behind the Moral. SOme get hurt for not using Common Sense, let Others, learn from their Mistakes, and not repeat them.
I think the parents should be charged with neglect, that this bb gun was where a little kid could get at it and shoot it.
Yeah, Richard, you are right, boys WILL be boys, and you can't watch kids every single minute. That is why a bb gun should be locked up in a secure place. Actually, in my opinon, if there are small kids in the house, a responsible parent shouldn't even have a gun - BB or otherwise - in the house at all!
"If there are small kids in the house a 'responsible' parent shouldnt even have a gun".
And THAT is my morning dose of drivel; thats about all I can take without puking my guts out.
Dont even consider teaching your child; dont even think of sending him/her to a hunter safety class; NOOOOO, dont even think about the idiotic mother who sent her untrained kids out to 'play' with a BB gun or any gun. Right along with Hunter Safety Classes the mother should be taking several classes on parenting and common sense. In this case it is the ignorent mother who is to blame! Sending children with no knowledge of firearm safety out to play with BB guns should qualify her for 30 days behind bars for placing her kids in harms way.
But she will blame the guns; probably blame Bush for this also. LOOK IN THE MIRROR DUMBAZZ; THATS WHERE THE BLAME LIES. SHEEESH!
WTF is a BB ?
Well I do know it isn't a bullet, regardless of how the story defined it.
Richard,
I am well aware of how difficult it is to keep an eye on them all the time, which is why the child should not have had access to a gun without a parent to supervise in the first place.
Homesick,
a responsible parent teaches their kid how to use a gun properly and how to defend themselves.
Chris,
BB - short for ball bearing, it is a very small metal projectile .177" in diameter.
When a kid is taught at an early age how to handle a gun and the respect necessary to use one, they grow up understanding how to use one safely. My son was taught at the age of 7 how to shoot my .44 mag. He is not only a deadly accurate shot, he is an extremely responsible gun owner. He knows better than to point a weapon at something without verifying it is something he actually wants to shoot/kill, something Ms. Gallagher obviously never did.
Who doesn't know what BB or BB gun is? Do you live under a rock?
Mom was negligent, pure and simple. I can see a 12 year-old playing with a BB gun unsupervised, but not his LITTLE BROTHER who still thinks "TIME OUT" is a punishment. If time-out works as a punishment, you're not old enough to use firearms, sorry.
matty,
the BB gun is becoming a relic, most kids today are more familiar with Air-Soft guns, same principle with a 6mm plastic BB, less hazardous but still not a toy.
i have been living with a pellet in my brain since march 12 1998 i have a sezuer dissorder because of it i hope he dosent end up develping sezuers from the wound like i did. jest know it is possable to live a "normal" life with a bullet lodged in the brain im proof of that hope all ends up well for the kid and people quit blaming the parents im sure they feal bad enouf allready its not possable to watch kids 100% of the time and acodents happen