Jerusalem teen falls five meters while taking 'selfie'

Hadassah neurosurgeons perform successful, four-hour operation on 14-year-old boy.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Door of pediatric intensive care unit. (photo credit: HADASSAH MEDICAL ORGANIZASTION)
Door of pediatric intensive care unit.
(photo credit: HADASSAH MEDICAL ORGANIZASTION)
A 14-year-old boy who took photos of himself (“selfie”) at the Lifta stream outside Jerusalem fell five meters when the rock he was standing on disintegrated and was rushed to Hadassah University Medical Center on Thursday in serious condition.
 
Hadassah said the boy, whose name was given as Yosef and lives in the capital’s largely ultra-Orthodox Ramot quarter, underwent complicated surgery by neurosurgeons and experts in maxillofacial and plastic surgery. His mother said the boy broke the bones in his forehead. “We hope for the best,” said the mother, who warned him to be careful before he went to Lifta.
 
His older brother Michael said: “His friends saw him doing a selfie and turned their heads for a moment. When they turned around, he wasn’t there, and they didn’t understand what had happened.”
 
Senior neurosurgeon Dr. Emil Margolin added: “The injury was serious, and damage to his skull is significant. The operation was complicated and took four hours. But we think he will recover without complications,” he said. Yosef is now stable and in moderate condition and not connected to a respirator or anesthetized.
 
The mother issued a warning to young people and their parents -- that climbing to get the perfect angle for a selfie is dangerous. Stop doing these crazy things. First think about safety. Take care of yourselves,” she begged. “If not, your families will cry afterwards.”
 
Numerous institutions around the world have barred selfies because of harm they may cause.