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Show Lives 18 Years With a Bullet Lodged in Brain Victim of 'Unloaded' Gun Now Paralyzed; Case j Puzzles Doctors. CLEVELAND. For 18 years Joe Celikovich has lived with a bullet in his brain. Now the 29-year-old Clevelander lies in a hospital cot partially paralyzed para-lyzed and refusing to talk because It increases the painful pressure in his head. Celikovich was the victim of a so-called so-called "unloaded" revolver. He was playing in the rear of his west side home with a 15-year-old friend when the two boys found an old, rusted revolver. The other youngster thought the gun was harmless so tie aimed it directly at Joe's head and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through Joe's forehead and lodged in his brain, where it has been ever since, despite de-spite two operations. Unconscious 23 Days. He was unconscious for 23 days after the shooting and doctors said then that he wouldn't live in fact, they said he couldn't; it was impossible. im-possible. But Joe did live and still is holding hold-ing on to a thin thread of life. He has frequent relapses and numerous headaches. The two operations ' helped relieve partially the continuing con-tinuing growing pressure on his brain. His left side became paralyzed para-lyzed almost immediately, but he still managed to get around. Neighbors describe him as "pleasant" "pleas-ant" and a "happy young man." Dr. Charles T. Dolezal, superintendent superin-tendent of the Cleveland City Hospital, Hos-pital, examined Joe recently when he collapsed into his present coma and said that "any new operation will in all probability make him wnrsp " Parents Want Operation. Joe's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Celikovich, disagree. They think another an-other operation will help their son "maybe cure him." But Dr. Dolezal said "further exploration ex-ploration in a brain, twice tampered with, will do more harm than good." "Joe Celikovich," he asserted, "can live a long, long time with that bullet in his brain or he could die suddenly tomorrow. It is dim- ; cult to ascertain. We don't know whether his present coma is due to symptoms resulting from pressure by the bullet or from injuries re- j ceived during the previous operations." opera-tions." Dr. Dolezal added that the present pres-ent collapse may not be the result of the bullet "but may be a mental condition entirely unrelated to the -1 original injury." j What is causing Joe's current relapse re-lapse is not known. Doctors dis- ! agree. Medical science has not yet ' solved the intricacies and mysteries of the human brain. But Joe, despite de-spite the bullet in his brain, is continuing con-tinuing his struggle to stay alive. |