Face-Eating Attack Victim Fears More Surgery
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A former Miami homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a horrific attack on the MacArthur Causeway says he doesn't want more surgery to repair the damage.
Ronald Poppo's sister, Antoinette Poppo told CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald that although his face hasn't healed yet, he said he doesn't want more surgery because "it's going to hurt."
Ronald Poppo lost an eye, his eyebrows, his nose and parts of his forehead and right cheek in the May 26 attack alongside the MacArthur Causeway and near the Miami Herald parking garage.
His attacker was a naked, crazed, 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, nicknamed the "Causeway Cannibal" after the vicious and unprovoked attack.
Police shot and killed Eugene about 15 minutes into the assault. Lab tests found only marijuana in Rudy Eugene's system.
Poppo was severely hurt. It was a bloody scene and Poppo was left mutilated and blind.
He received intensive medical treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital before he was moved to Jackson Memorial Perdue Medical Center, an 11-acre long-term care facility in southern Miami-Dade County. His sister said he likes his new home.
Poppo has refused all interview requests since the incident, and apart from allowing doctors to hold a news conference in June, he hasn't authorized his treating physicians to talk about his medical condition.
(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)
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