5:29 PM: Comatose Giants fan Bryan Stow arrived this afternoon at San Francisco General Hospital from Southern California, but doctors are still working to assess the 42-year-old emergency medical technician’s condition, according to hospital officials.
Stow, who was attacked by two suspects on March 31 outside Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, was transported by medical jet and ground ambulance to the Bay Area and arrived at the hospital, San Francisco’s only trauma center, at about 2 p.m.
As a trauma neurosurgeon and the hospital’s chief of neurosurgery, Dr. Geoffrey T. Manley and his team will be monitoring Stow. Manley specializes in brain injury, spinal cord injury and neurocritical care, according to the hospital.
Aside from San Francisco General Hospital’s proximity to Stow’s family, who reside in Santa Clara County, the hospital is nationally renowned for its expertise in treating brain injuries, hospital CEO Sue Currin said.
In the two and a half hours since Stow’s arrival, doctors have worked to keep him stable and assess his condition, Manley said.
“Travel can be tough when still quite sick,” he said of Stow’s trip.
Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said the medical jet was staffed by members of American Medical Response, the company that employs Stow.
For the past six weeks, Stow had been in the care of doctors at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he remained in a medically induced coma because of his touch-and-go condition.
At a news conference held today at the San Francisco hospital, Manley extended his congratulations to the Los Angeles area doctors for all the work they have done.
Stow’s current caregivers were assessing his condition this afternoon and were poring over his medical records–including brain images — from the past six weeks. Manley said he and his team expect to gave a sense of his condition by Tuesday.
They had no estimate of how long it could take to sort through his recent medical history.
“We do know that if we make him stable that it will allow for him to have plasticity” in his brain, Manley said. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change with learning and would be an indicator that Stow could make a good recovery.
During this time of transition, Stow’s family has asked for privacy but said that they will continue to update a website created to keep the public informed of Stow’s condition and of fundraising events, www.support4bryanstow.com.
As of this afternoon, the website had not been updated since Friday.
His family requested that cards, letters and other signs of support be sent to PO box 884, Capitola, CA 95010.
On the night of the attack, Stow and his friends had been leaving the stadium after a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Stow and his friends, who were all wearing Giants clothing that night, were approached from behind by a pair of men cled in Dodgers apparel in the stadium’s F2 parking lot.
According to police, the men taunted Stow for being a Giants fan and hit him from behind, causing him to fall to the ground. Stow’s friends were also attacked by the men when they tried to intervene.
No arrests have been made in connection with the beating, and police have released sketches of the two men, believed to be Hispanic men between 18 and 25 years old.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Los Angeles police at (877) 527-3247.
Sasha Lekach/Patricia Decker, Bay City News
3:41 PM: Comatose Giants fan Bryan Stow has arrived at San Francisco General Hospital from Southern California, hospital officials said.
Stow, who was attacked by two suspects on March 31 outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, was flown to the Bay Area and arrived at San Francisco General Hospital around 2 p.m.
Hospital officials will hold a news conference later this afternoon to give an update on Stow’s condition.
Dr. Geoffrey T. Manley, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital, will be monitoring Stow as a trauma neurosurgeon. He specializes in brain injury, spinal cord injury and neurocritical care, according to the hospital.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
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