Doctors say Cayce boy is doing well after losing hand

A group of specialized surgeons working at Duke University told the family of a Cayce teen whose hand was amputated during an accident at the Saluda River that they are optimistic, and the reattachment of the boy's hand has gone well thus far.

David Coleman's family has kept in close touch with his rescuers and their families, saying Wednesday that the 16-year-old boy is doing as well as could be expected.

While he is not out of the woods yet, doctors told the family he has good circulation in the injured right hand and it is warm to the touch.

Justin Bell, 23, of Aiken, one of those who helped rescue the teen, said the events that led up to the accident were "unbelievable."

Just after 2 p.m. last Sunday, Bell, his girlfriend Ashley Whisonant and friends Josh Temples and Anna Burns went to the Saluda River in Lexington where David and his friends were also visiting. Bell said he and his friends were relaxing near the water when they heard the teenager yell for help. David had grabbed onto an overhead zipline to swing into the river when his right hand became entangled in the wire.

He dropped into the water, and when he came up for air, he was clutching a bleeding right arm with his left hand.

David's friends and the others at the water rushed to his aid. The teenager had somehow gotten himself out of the water and to shore where Temples unfastened his belt and tied a tourniquet on the young man's arm. One of the other teens stripped off his shirt and tried to control the bleeding.

His friends called 911, and the group helping David walked with him along the trail from the water back to a waiting ambulance.

The 16-year-old boy was rushed to Palmetto Health Richland for treatment while Bell, the young man's friends and a Lexington County Sheriff's Office deputy returned to the water to find the hand.

At the water's edge, the deputy called to a pair of fishermen in a johnboat, asking them to start looking. The cold water was about 8 to 10 feet deep where the teen fell, but it was perfectly clear, Bell said.

He headed in and was ankle deep in the water, when one of the teen's friends called to say he had the hand.

David was taken to Duke where surgeons who specialize in trauma-related limb deformities, removal of trauma-related scars and hand replantation began trying to reattach the amputated hand.

David's family has told those who aided the young man that his doctors are hopeful.

On Wednesday he was still sedated and on a ventilator, but doctors told the family they expected to bring him out of the induced sleep soon.

Originally, the teenager was scheduled for another surgery, but on Wednesday, the surgeon told David's family the teenager did not need the second treatment.

His family has told those who helped the teenager the day of the accident that they are trying to take his recovery one day at a time and continue to thank those who were there when he was injured.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.