cdiver2
Contributor
Posted on Sun, Jan. 16, 2005
Collinsville man survives big bite from barracuda off Cancun coast
Muscle tissues, tendons are torn
BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN
bbrueggemann@bnd.com
COLLINSVILLE -
The fish are biting down in Cancun, Mexico. Just ask Eric Wiblemo.
Wiblemo returned Wednesday from Cancun -- well, most of him did -- after a barracuda mangled his hand.
"The doctor said, from the bite radius, it was like 5 1/2 to 6 feet long. They said the barracuda was probably taller than me," Wiblemo, 19, of Collinsville, said Saturday.
Wiblemo, who works in construction, at a video store and as a lifeguard at the Collinsville YMCA, was swimming at a Cancun beach when the barracuda bit him Tuesday.
"The barracuda was probably chasing fish. There were smaller fish around me," Wiblemo said.
The bite, around the meaty part of his hand, tore tendons, bruised bone, took away muscle tissue and left a gash in his palm. A barracuda has two sets of razor-sharp teeth; one set consists of long, needle-like teeth that fit into the opposing jaw, allowing the fish to close its mouth -- and cut large prey into pieces.
"At first I thought I was getting bit by a shark. I picked up my hand, and flesh is just hanging," he said.
He swam about 50 yards to shore using just his legs. He had the presence of mind to hold his hand above his head to reduce blood flow.
"It stung a little bit. The doctors said I was probably in too much shock to feel the pain," Wiblemo said.
Resort employees put him in a lawn chair and carried him to the resort, where an ambulance took him to a hospital.
"It was a clean hospital. It was nice," he said.
But the hospital wanted $5,000 in advance to cover the bill, which now stands at $8,400, so Wiblemo called his mother, Lana Wiblemo.
"I have a souvenir from Cancun," Lana Wiblemo recalls her son saying.
His mother began inquiring whether he should be treated in Mexico or flown to the United States. She consulted a relative who is a doctor, who suggested immediate treatment, so she called the hospital with a credit card number.
A reconstructive surgeon arrived and said surgery was necessary.
"He noticed my thumb wouldn't move all around. It would move up and down, but it wouldn't move side to side," Wiblemo said.
He added: "The surgeon decided he wanted to take four of his fingers and jab them up my hand and move them around. He said he was feeling around to see if everything was intact. That was the most painful part."
Wiblemo isn't sure how many stitches he got.
"There's stitches inside me and stitches holding the skin together," he said.
He spent the night in the hospital and spent most of the time calling friends to laugh about what happened.
When paperwork at the hospital was completed, Wiblemo was rushed to the airport to catch his scheduled flight. Wearing his swimsuit and a hospital gown, he was pushed in a wheelchair onto the plane with five minutes to spare.
When a Collinsville doctor examined him 24 hours after the bite, that doctor said Wiblemo was still in shock.
Wiblemo said he hopes to regain full movement in his hand.
"They say if I keep the thumb from moving, it should come back," he said.
Would he swim in Cancun again?
"Yeah," he said. "I want to go back in July, but I don't think my parents are going to let me."
Collinsville man survives big bite from barracuda off Cancun coast
Muscle tissues, tendons are torn
BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN
bbrueggemann@bnd.com
COLLINSVILLE -
The fish are biting down in Cancun, Mexico. Just ask Eric Wiblemo.
Wiblemo returned Wednesday from Cancun -- well, most of him did -- after a barracuda mangled his hand.
"The doctor said, from the bite radius, it was like 5 1/2 to 6 feet long. They said the barracuda was probably taller than me," Wiblemo, 19, of Collinsville, said Saturday.
Wiblemo, who works in construction, at a video store and as a lifeguard at the Collinsville YMCA, was swimming at a Cancun beach when the barracuda bit him Tuesday.
"The barracuda was probably chasing fish. There were smaller fish around me," Wiblemo said.
The bite, around the meaty part of his hand, tore tendons, bruised bone, took away muscle tissue and left a gash in his palm. A barracuda has two sets of razor-sharp teeth; one set consists of long, needle-like teeth that fit into the opposing jaw, allowing the fish to close its mouth -- and cut large prey into pieces.
"At first I thought I was getting bit by a shark. I picked up my hand, and flesh is just hanging," he said.
He swam about 50 yards to shore using just his legs. He had the presence of mind to hold his hand above his head to reduce blood flow.
"It stung a little bit. The doctors said I was probably in too much shock to feel the pain," Wiblemo said.
Resort employees put him in a lawn chair and carried him to the resort, where an ambulance took him to a hospital.
"It was a clean hospital. It was nice," he said.
But the hospital wanted $5,000 in advance to cover the bill, which now stands at $8,400, so Wiblemo called his mother, Lana Wiblemo.
"I have a souvenir from Cancun," Lana Wiblemo recalls her son saying.
His mother began inquiring whether he should be treated in Mexico or flown to the United States. She consulted a relative who is a doctor, who suggested immediate treatment, so she called the hospital with a credit card number.
A reconstructive surgeon arrived and said surgery was necessary.
"He noticed my thumb wouldn't move all around. It would move up and down, but it wouldn't move side to side," Wiblemo said.
He added: "The surgeon decided he wanted to take four of his fingers and jab them up my hand and move them around. He said he was feeling around to see if everything was intact. That was the most painful part."
Wiblemo isn't sure how many stitches he got.
"There's stitches inside me and stitches holding the skin together," he said.
He spent the night in the hospital and spent most of the time calling friends to laugh about what happened.
When paperwork at the hospital was completed, Wiblemo was rushed to the airport to catch his scheduled flight. Wearing his swimsuit and a hospital gown, he was pushed in a wheelchair onto the plane with five minutes to spare.
When a Collinsville doctor examined him 24 hours after the bite, that doctor said Wiblemo was still in shock.
Wiblemo said he hopes to regain full movement in his hand.
"They say if I keep the thumb from moving, it should come back," he said.
Would he swim in Cancun again?
"Yeah," he said. "I want to go back in July, but I don't think my parents are going to let me."
