Mar. 26, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret remains in a deep coma tonight in a special-care room at Roosevelt Hospital as a result of two acute brain hemorrhages and undetermined brain damage to nerve cells of his brain. At a news conference, one of his surgeons, Dr. John E. Crisp (pictured with an X-ray of Paret’s skull), called Paret’s condition “extremely grave.” Following brain surgery Sunday, a tube was inserted in his throat to ease breathing. The surgery consisted of four cuts into Paret’s skull. They disclosed the two blood clots, known as acute subdural hematomas, on either side of the brain. At the same time, the four openings, each the size of a quarter, revealed discoloring on the surface of the brain and spotty bleeding of tiny blood vessels. This was taken to mean that Paret had suffered damage to the interior of his brain. Dr. Crisp said that there was no evidence that the boxer would emerge from his coma. Paret’s chances for survival and functioning remain about 10,000 to 1, the doctor remarked. For now, no further surgery is contemplated.
