Florida Stingray Victim 'Holding His Own'

An 81-year-old boater remains in critical condition after a stingray flopped onto his boat and stung him, leaving a foot-long barb in his chest, authorities said.

"He's holding his own. He's in critical condition, but we're just praying for the best right now," James Bertakis' granddaughter Sarah Bertakis said on CBS News' The Early Show.

"It was a freak accident," said Lighthouse Point acting fire Chief David Donzella. "It's very odd that the thing jumped out of the water and stung him. We still can't believe it."

Fatal stingray attacks like the one that killed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin last month are rare, marine experts say. Rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually causes just a painful sting for humans.

Bertakis, a retired developer, was on the water with his granddaughter's friend Sarah Vidican Wednesday when the stingray flopped onto the boat and stung Bertakis. Vidican, who had never driven a boat, steered it to shore and called 911. The granddaughter was not aboard the boat; she had decided to sleep in that morning, and met the boat at the shore.

Emergency workers needed directions to find Bertakis' house, so the victim himself got on the telephone to give directions.

Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the spotted eagle ray from the boat when he was stung, police Cmdr. Mike Oh said. The ray was approximately 3 feet across and 18 to 24 inches long, Oh said. Officials have kept the dead ray in case doctors need to examine it, Oh said.

Bertakis underwent surgery late Wednesday and early Thursday and doctors were able to remove the barb, which appears to have lodged near or in his heart, said Dr. Eugene Costantini at Broward General Medical Center.

"This is the piece. It's razor-sharp and the tip is extremely sharp," Constantini said, displaying the three-inch barb.

"As the heart squeezes this actually migrates through — very similar to a ratchet mechanism. Every squeeze of the heart grabs it, pulls it forward," Constantini said.

Bertakis underwent additional surgery Thursday afternoon to control internal bleeding and to remove his spleen, which had swollen and ruptured since the previous procedures, Costantini said.

"At this gentleman's age, (the spleen) plays a limited role and will not be missed," he said.

Doctors were able to pull the barb through his heart and close the wound.

Bertakis was helped by the fact that he is in great shape for his age, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

Speaking at a news conference at the hospital, Chris Bertakis said his father is extremely active and that his age is not a good indication of his health. After having knee surgery a month ago he was quickly back riding his bike for miles, his son said.

"He's an amazing man. He's very, very strong," a choked-up Vidican said Friday on CBS News' The Early Show.

Bertakis' family owns Bertakis Development Inc. in Michigan. James Bertakis in 1972 founded the company, which specializes in manufactured homes and has property in Michigan and Texas.

Bertakis's case was different from that of Irwin's because the barb stayed in Bertakis' heart and was not pulled out, Costantini said.

Though he said it is rare to see a puncture wound made by a stingray barb, similar injuries are created by objects like knives. Those objects should not be taken out except in the operating room, he said, because they create holes that will bleed.

"We pulled it through just like a fish hook," Costantini said.

Only 17 fatal stingray attacks, including Irwin's, have been reported worldwide, Costantini said.

"They are not going out to find people, they're going around foraging on shell fish that are in the bottom," Ray Davis of the Georgia Aquarium told CBS News.

Ellen Pikitch, a professor of marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami, who has been studying stingrays for decades, said they are generally docile.

"Something like this is really, really extraordinarily rare," she said. "Even when they are under duress, they don't usually attack."