Fraction Of An Inch Saved Athlete Who Was Hit By Javelin

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A fraction of an inch. That was the margin between life and death for a 17-year-old athlete who was speared in the head by an 8-foot javelin, her doctors said.

Sara Miniman, who was struck Monday afternoon, was in good condition yesterday and could be out of the hospital before the weekend.

"When all is said and done, she'll be left with a barely perceptible scar" above her left cheek, said Dr. Gregory Borah, chief plastic surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Miniman could have some numbness in her cheek due to nerve damage, added Dr. Jeffrey Hammond, the hospital's chief of trauma surgical care. He operated exactly a year ago on 15-year-old Jeremy Campbell of nearby Metuchen, whose neck was impaled by a javelin during a track meet.

Miniman was injured Monday during track practice at Watchung Hills Regional High School.

When she arrived at the hospital by helicopter, the point of the javelin was in her head, with 12 inches of the spear protruding. The rest had been cut off. She was alert but lethargic, Borah said.

On May 10, 1993, Campbell, manager of the St. Joseph's team, was hit in the neck by a javelin during a meet with Edison High School.

Nearly a foot of the javelin protruded from the front of his neck. He was released from Robert Wood Johnson a few days after

surgery.