February 15, 1996
Web posted at: 5:30 p.m. EST
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (CNN) -- A policeman, who suddenly began speaking clearly Monday after suffering a gunshot wound to the head nearly eight years ago, successfully underwent surgery to treat pneumonia Thursday.
Gary Dockery, 42, was in stable condition with the help of a ventilator after having infectious fluid drained from his lungs. After the operation, he opened his eyes and responded to verbal commands from doctors through eye contact.
Dr. James Folkening, an internal medicine specialist at Parkridge Hospital in Chattanooga, said doctors will not know until after the ventilator tube is removed whether Dockery's dramatically increased ability to speak and respond will continue. Doctors plan to remove the tube Thursday night.
On Monday, a day after being transferred from a nursing home to the hospital for pneumonia treatment, Dockery shocked family members when he spoke his first words since the shooting incident in 1988.
"There was certainly no apparent medical explanation for this sudden improvement for Mr. Dockery's ability to communicate."
-- Dr. James Folkening
Dockery recognized and talked coherently to his sons for the first time in 7.5 years. His boys are now 12 and 20 years old.
Hospital officials quoted family members as saying that Dockery joked, asked if Ronald Reagan was president and carried on conversations with his nurses and family members.
"The patient suddenly and spontaneously, without explanation, developed the limited ability to verbalize coherently with nursing staff and selected family members," Folkening said. "There was certainly no apparent medical explanation for this sudden improvement for Mr. Dockery's ability to communicate." (204K AIFF sound or 204K WAV sound)
A drunken assailant shot Dockery in the head in 1988 when the policeman responded to an emergency call. The bullet damaged his nervous system so badly that Dockery was unable to speak until earlier this week. Dockery's communication had been limited to blinking, grunting and grimacing.
Folkening said the gunshot and surgery to remove the bullet fragments from Dockery's brain had left him with a "profound neurological injury."
Contrary to earlier reports, doctors said Dockery was never was in a coma. On Tuesday, Dockery spoke less, and on Wednesday not at all as his pneumonia worsened.
Surgeons suggested he undergo surgery to drain the infectious fluid filling his lungs, yet they warned the anesthesia might further damage Dockery's brain.
Dockery was taken into surgery at 6 a.m. (EST) Thursday. An incision was made in the left lung and the fluid removed, allowing the lung to expand more freely. Two chest tubes were inserted to help keep more fluid from accumulating.
Folkening described the procedure as going "very well." Dockery will remain in intensive care for the next three to five days.
![[Imagemap]](/US/images/9601/navbar.gif){kind=small}
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.