6.Eric Whalley — Direct
277 linesERIC WHALLEY, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: State your name and spell your last name for the record.
ERIC WHALLEY: First name is Eric, surname is Whalley, W-H-A-L-L-E-Y.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Good morning, Mr. Whalley.
ERIC WHALLEY: Good morning.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Sir, just be mindful of the microphone. Close but not too close. Mr. Whalley, where do you live?
ERIC WHALLEY: In Boston.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: How long have you lived there?
ERIC WHALLEY: Sixteen years.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And who do you live there with?
ERIC WHALLEY: My wife.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how long have you been married?
ERIC WHALLEY: Forty-five years.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is your wife's name Ann?
ERIC WHALLEY: Ann, A-N-N.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: How old were you when you met?
ERIC WHALLEY: Initially we met at school at 12 years old.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is there something that particularly drew you together?
ERIC WHALLEY: We shared common interests. We were academically in the same sort of class, and also we shared sporting activities, many different types of sports, track and field in particular.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So how old are you now, then?
ERIC WHALLEY: I'm 67.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Do you have children?
ERIC WHALLEY: Two boys.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: How old are they?
ERIC WHALLEY: Twenty-seven and 36.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you now retired?
ERIC WHALLEY: I'm retired yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what did you do for work?
ERIC WHALLEY: I'm originally basically a pharmaceutically trained individual. And I worked in academia, on academic staff, teaching in the university, and also in the biotechnology industry, in drug discovery and development.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how long did you have that career for?
ERIC WHALLEY: I was 14 years in academia. And total, 22, 23 years, say, in biotechnology, in Denver and then in Boston.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I gather from the accent that you didn't -- that you came --
ERIC WHALLEY: I'm originally from England, in the U.K.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Sir, when did you come to the United States?
ERIC WHALLEY: In 1989.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is that when you moved to Denver?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And then approximately when did you come to the Boston area?
ERIC WHALLEY: 1998.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Are you familiar with the Boston Marathon?
ERIC WHALLEY: Very familiar, yeah. We've attended most of them since we actually moved here. We find it extremely interesting, the athletic events, and the atmosphere it generates and being involved with it.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So aside from the Boston Marathon, is sports and athletics --
ERIC WHALLEY: Sports has been a significant part of my life and both my wife. We are active runners: 5K, 10K, half marathons. I've never done a marathon. But we also have enjoyed mountain biking and trail-running.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so did you attend the 2013 Boston Marathon?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And this is -- it sounds like for most of the years that you've been in the Boston area, you've attended the Boston Marathon?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah. We haven't attended them all since we came but --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: But many of them?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So what did you do the day of the 2013 Boston Marathon?
ERIC WHALLEY: We usually enjoy walking around Boston. We used to live north of Boston. Even though I worked in Cambridge, I commuted from the North Andover area. And there's very little about -- Boston is a commute down, commute back, and then take the kids, you know, to their sporting events. That particular day we went for, you know, a six- to eight-mile walk, which we usually did about three times a week, walked, of course, around the Boston Common, we went down almost to the end of Newbury Street, and then we cut across to Boylston and were enjoying the atmosphere and the flavor and interaction, you know, between the crowd and spectators and the runners. And --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So let me just stop you there. Was there anyone running that you knew that you were there --
ERIC WHALLEY: We knew quite a few people but they weren't people we were supporting. People I knew from work.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So you were there just for the tourism factor?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, just the flavor of the event and the atmosphere.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: All right. So at some point while you were down on Boylston Street, did you choose to go somewhere specifically?
ERIC WHALLEY: We specifically went into Crate & Barrel. We had recently moved down to Boston from North Andover and we were still decorating and furnishing the house. And we popped in there for ten, 15 minutes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: That's the Crate & Barrel next to the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, but I wasn't aware of that at the time. I didn't really know what the Forum was.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So when you left Crate & Barrel, where did you go?
ERIC WHALLEY: We decided to go down to the finish line, which was getting very congested, and almost single file both ways, and people letting each other, you know, through at intervals, one way and then the next.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So that funneling process, was that by the crowd or were there barriers or anything that --
ERIC WHALLEY: So there were barriers to the right and there was the sports shop on the left with its railings.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is that Marathon Sports?
ERIC WHALLEY: The Marathon Sports, right.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: All right. And so around that area, were you trying to get through --
ERIC WHALLEY: We were trying to get through. It was quite, as I say, congested and quite difficult. So actually, you know, I said to my wife Ann, "I think we're going to have to force our way through here," and I actually pushed her in front of me forward and decided to walk through.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. So a very narrow passage. You were actually pushing your wife, and then what happened?
ERIC WHALLEY: Then there was just an all-mighty boom and just the smell of a firework.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What happened to you?
ERIC WHALLEY: I don't remember too much, to be perfectly honest. The last thing that I do remember -- I clearly remember the boom and also the firework, having had a previous experience with something like that. But I fell to the ground, I guess, and the last thing I remember was basically just scratching off my pants, which were burning. So I remember scraping off my burning pants and looking at it. And after that --
MS. CONRAD: Objection. Objection.
ERIC WHALLEY: -- I don't remember anything.
THE COURT: I'm sorry?
MS. CONRAD: Objection.
THE COURT: I'm not clear.
MS. CONRAD: I said "objection."
THE COURT: Yes, I understand. But the basis?
MS. CONRAD: 403, your Honor.
THE COURT: No; overruled.
Go ahead.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Let me ask you a smaller question. Where did you land relative to where you were walking between --
ERIC WHALLEY: Probably about, we reckoned, five to six -- we were blown backwards. And as I've been told, my wife was blown behind me about five to six feet from where I ended up. And I lost consciousness.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So if I may, I believe this is already in evidence, Exhibit 8, your Honor.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Mr. Whalley, I'm showing you Exhibit 8. Do you see yourself in this photo?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes, I do.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So the screen in front of you is interactive. You can touch it and it will leave a mark. Can you, with the pad of your finger, just circle where you are in this picture?
ERIC WHALLEY: This is me. Not the guy with the yellow thing but the guy on the ground.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And do you see your wife, Ann?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, she's here with the blue quilted...
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so before the bomb exploded, she was actually in front of you?
ERIC WHALLEY: She was in front of me. And I was basically pushing her on her back/shoulders, trying to force our way through the crowds.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: All right. And was she injured as well?
ERIC WHALLEY: She was injured. She had a severe injury to her right leg and foot. The heel was blown off with soft tissue damage. And she had significant chunks of shrapnel in her leg and thigh, which it almost appears the long bone, the femur. And she had large chunks of shrapnel in both wrists. And she had quite marked burns to her chest, neck and face and hair, and her mouth was damaged with shrapnel and required reconstructive surgery.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so you were describing when you got blown back that you noticed your pants were burning?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yup.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is there -- did I show you a photograph that depicts you on the sidewalk next to that Marathon Sports grate? Do you remember that?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Your Honor, I would move into evidence Exhibit 624.
THE COURT: I'm sorry. 6 --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: 624.
THE COURT: Is there any objection to this photo? Ms. Conrad, any objection to 624?
MS. CONRAD: As previously noted, your Honor.
THE COURT: Can I see it?
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Yeah, just for --
MS. CONRAD: As previously noted.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Admitted.
(Government Exhibit No. 624 received into evidence.)
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Mr. Whalley, is that you depicted in this photograph?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And the -- your right eye, does that appear to be bulging out of your eye socket?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah. It was penetrated by a ball-bearing, and the blood vessels and other tissue behind the eye had ruptured and was leaking fluid. Unfortunately, my eye was almost pushed out of the eye socket.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So in addition to injuries to your eyes, do you see injuries about your head and your legs as well?
ERIC WHALLEY: So I had a brain injury. I have a ball-bearing that went to the back of my eye and almost forced it out of its socket, went into the eye orbit and traversed from the right front temporal lobe across the median brain into the left temporal lobe.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And in addition to your head injury, was there other injuries that you had to your legs?
ERIC WHALLEY: So I had, again, severe injury to the right leg. I had lost significant amounts of soft tissue and part of the heel bone. The fibula was broken. I had shrapnel injuries in both legs and burns on both legs.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so you said earlier that after you remember the burning pants, that you didn't remember very much after that. Is that right?
ERIC WHALLEY: I didn't remember anything until Thursday morning --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay.
ERIC WHALLEY: -- following --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: All right. So let's get to that. Shortly after this incident, was Ann taken to the hospital?
ERIC WHALLEY: So one of the issues was they didn't know who we were because we lost our identities, you know, cards in our backpacks and what have you. So I learned later that my wife, Ann, had been taken to Faulkner Hospital, and I'd been taken to Brigham and Women's. And it was both my sons who actually, you know, found us, where we were. And Ann was in Faulkner and I was in Brigham and Women's. And they used the Internet -- they became aware that we were involved in it just through pictures that appeared on the Internet that day.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So your sons were visiting you separately during the --
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, they sort of shared visiting between the two hospitals until -- for that first week.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: All right. And sometime later, I think you were alluding to it -- on that Thursday, did Ann actually come to join you at the Brigham?
(Pause.)
ERIC WHALLEY: Yup. She thought I was dead and I thought she was dead because we didn't know. Ann had been sedated heavily due to her injuries as well, and they decided to bring her into the same hospital room that I was in. And she was wheeled in, side by side. We were both prone. You know, we weren't able to get off the bed. And I just grabbed her arm and just wouldn't let go. So that was when I think we both realized that we were both in this but we were alive and well.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Well, you were alive but you had a number of injuries, correct?
ERIC WHALLEY: Uh-huh.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And both of you continued to get medical treatment for several weeks after that?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah. I think I had a total of 44 days in hospital and my wife was 32 days. And we had, I don't know, between 20 and 25 surgeries, I had, and my wife had about 15 to 20. Some actually happened after we'd left hospital --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay.
ERIC WHALLEY: -- as follow-up operations.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Let me slow you down there. There's a lot of information. How long were you in the hospital?
ERIC WHALLEY: A total of 44 days.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how about your wife?
ERIC WHALLEY: A total of 32 days.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And approximately how many surgical procedures did you undergo in that time, or actually have you undergone up to today?
ERIC WHALLEY: Between 20 and 25.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. And how about your wife, Ann?
ERIC WHALLEY: Between 15 and 20.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So you started talking about your injuries from the scene?
ERIC WHALLEY: Uh-huh.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Over the course of your hospitalization and treatment, was there evolution of the status of those injuries?
ERIC WHALLEY: So one of the issues was I had the brain injury and I had the eye injury. And to be perfectly honest, I was so pleased I was in the Boston area because one of the first things they did in the emergency room, which was about 20 minutes after getting there, was a surgical procedure just to release the pressure, you know, behind the eye. And that -- it's a common procedure but -- or surgery. And that saved my eye, actually, from popping out. If I had been anywhere else or it had been a longer time period, I don't think I would have kept the eye, despite the fact that I ultimately lost the sight in it.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Sir, did you actually send me a photograph of your retina at some time later after that procedure?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes. Some of the -- I was a case study in two, three -- actually, four publications of the different injuries that I had. And some of them turned out to be, I don't know, pretty unique, particularly the one with the eye, which is not seen very often. And I can't describe in detail, clinical terminology, you know, the exact situation, but it was quite rare.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Your Honor, at this point I move into evidence Exhibit 1598.
MS. CONRAD: Objection as previously noted.
THE COURT: May I see it?
(Pause.)
THE COURT: All right. Admitted.
(Government Exhibit No. 1598 received into evidence.)
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And, Mr. Whalley, what does this show?
ERIC WHALLEY: This basically just shows, you know, pictures of the eye in section. A and B are essentially two days and seven days post trauma. And where the arrows are is just showing the back of the eye coming away from the globe. And although you can't see it on these pictures, there was significant bleeding into the eye, in the gap between the retina and the back of the eye. And that was a cause for real concern. Most of the retina in that area was irreversibly damaged, but it was important to actually get it back. The C is three weeks after the first surgery that I had to try and stabilize the eye, stabilize the bleeding and re-connect it to the back of the eye. Unfortunately, three months later, it all came undone again, so the surgeons had to go back in and I had another four-hour operation reattaching and clearing the eye. That's how it's shown in D. Unfortunately, we don't have a normal picture here to compare it to because that's pretty drastic. And in the second surgery, they also decided to take out the lens and the cap shield because they realized there's no sight. The ball-bearing also irreversibly damaged my optic nerve, so even if I retained retinal function there, it wouldn't have changed anything because the optic nerve was too severely damaged.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So you've lost sight in the eye?
ERIC WHALLEY: I've lost sight in my eye.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: But they were able to physically keep the eyeball still in the --
ERIC WHALLEY: Yup, which -- yup.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: In addition, did you send me a photograph of your brain injury?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'd move into evidence Exhibit 1593.
MS. CONRAD: As previously noted, your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Admitted.
(Government Exhibit No. 1593 received into evidence.)
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What does this show?
ERIC WHALLEY: So this is my brain. There's two different sections. And it's essentially flipped. So right is left and left is right. It's just the way it's oriented and the way it's depicted here. So on the right-hand side we can see my eyeball. And the ball-bearing came through the back of my eye. Can I make a mark?
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Yeah, can you touch the screen?
ERIC WHALLEY: Sure can. So it came through there and fractured the orbit, went through the orbit and to the right prefrontal cortex and then across the midline into the left frontal cortex. The arrows here show subarachnoid hemorrhage, bleeding into the brain, which is quite significant. While I'm on this one, actually, not -- it's difficult but simply I'll tell you, a second ball-bearing actually broke my nose and the cleft, and I ended up actually swallowing that ball-bearing. And you can't see it on there obviously. But the ball-bearing ended up lodged in the left prefrontal cortex, and that's shown on the left-hand side here, this white thing there. And the arrows show significant subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain bleeding. And one of the issues was with this particular thing, I'm on blood thinners -- I was on blood thinners. I had atrial fibrillation. So that did not help with the recovery and the bleeding. I think it might have exacerbated it a little bit. It was deemed too risky to remove that surgically so it's still in there and, you know, causes me mental issues, thinking about various things.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So that BB that we see on the screen is still on top of your brain?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yup.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You described that you had leg injuries?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yup.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What type of leg injury? What did the doctors do with regard to your leg injury?
ERIC WHALLEY: So I actually met with a large group of surgeons and residents, maybe 15 in total at one particular -- before they actually did the major surgery on my leg. And there were several issues that needed to be decided, and decided quickly, and one was whether to amputate or whether to do limb salvage on my leg because of the type of damage that had been incurred. The second issue --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You used the term "limb salvage"?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can you explain what that means?
ERIC WHALLEY: So limb salvage is an alternative -- a good alternative to amputation, but it's very dependent on how much residual tissue you have in place and what the availability of any other tissue that's required, either from other limbs -- so for example, skin flaps to be used in my case, blood vessels from my left leg were transplanted to the right leg along with nerves because they had been blown off with the injury, plus the heel. So basically, it was just a reconstruction of the bones, fix them in place with an external fixator; try to cover the wound, which they could not do, by the way; and replace blood vessels and nerves. The blood vessels, in part, obviously to improve and maintain diffusion. If they couldn't have done that, it was going to be off. And that was one of the biggest concerns along with, as always with any surgery, infection. So I was faced with this group and what to do and when to do it, and I was dealing with the brain thing. I'd also had my ear drum totally blasted out and that had gotten infected. I was dealing with that, dealing with the eye. And I just thought they talked about limb salvage, and I thought I don't want my leg to be amputated. I'm not sure I could handle it. So I insisted on trying to salvage it. And they said they would have a go, but they said, "You probably will be back shortly," you know, sort of because of the issues they thought was going to occur by salvaging the leg.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: It's not always a clear-cut decision as to whether to try to salvage a leg that --
ERIC WHALLEY: Right. Right. My reasoning was that I wanted to have a go for salvaging it at all costs, and if that failed, there was a backup plan, so to speak.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Did you send me a photograph of your leg during the rehabilitation?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes, I did. Yeah.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And for the witness and the Court, 1599, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what does the photograph show?
ERIC WHALLEY: So this is my right foot and heel.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Sorry --
MS. CONRAD: Your Honor, I object.
THE COURT: This is just for the witness.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: This is just for the witness.
MS. CONRAD: Oh, the description also.
THE COURT: Let's have a question.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So can you describe the circumstances of this photograph?
ERIC WHALLEY: So this is ten weeks after the injury.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what does it show?
MS. CONRAD: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
ERIC WHALLEY: So this is my right foot, and it's encased in an external fixator with half a dozen pins going into the long bone and various bones in my foot to keep them in place. That was there for three months. It also shows this piece here -- straight arrows -- but anyway, this flap there, that was taken from my left thigh, and then skin was taken from another area on my thigh and covering this open wound area here. And that was a concern that they had, that they couldn't close the wound. It was weeping fluid, blood daily, and they didn't really hold out any good hope that this would work. And it was tremendously swollen. And I had had antibacterial surrounding beads put in there to replace some of the bone that had been shot off.
And so I was unable to weight bear at all or stand properly without, you know, aid for like -- I think the first time I truly weight-beared was at 14 months after the surgery. They did warn me that this would be a long process. Age was against us, both my wife and I, because of our age and that, you know, the bone repair in particular and some of the healing is significantly reduced.
MS. CONRAD: Your Honor --
THE COURT: I think it's gone beyond...
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Ok. I'll ask another question.
ERIC WHALLEY: Okay.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So staying on the photograph for a moment, does the photograph depict your heel exposed? Open and exposed?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And does it depict your heel as being several times larger than the normal human foot?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And this is ten weeks after your --
ERIC WHALLEY: This ten weeks after.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: How long was it after the swelling had decreased enough to even close your foot?
ERIC WHALLEY: Even though I got to weightbearing, the wound healing took probably 18 months in total. And one of the issues was when I was weightbearing, the wound would reopen and bleed and leak fluid. So that was an issue.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So what were the other complications and risks associated with this limb salvage procedure?
ERIC WHALLEY: I guess the biggest issue was potential infection, like any surgical procedure, particularly in recovery. And I did have mild infections in two or three places, but it was adequately treated.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did you also have a clot filter placed in?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah. Both my wife and I had what they call inferior vena cava, sort of blood filters. And one of the problems I had, I developed a deep vein thrombosis. I had one in each leg: One behind the knee and one behind the thigh. So I had an intravenous filter placed because of the possibility of the floating thrombosis getting to my heart.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so did your wife also have a deep --
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes, they did.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Were they able to get her filter out?
ERIC WHALLEY: So we went in for surgery about five weeks ago. And I had mine removed. Mine came out quite easily. It's a quick procedure. But despite many attempts, my wife's wouldn't come out. It was too embedded into the blood vessel, and so they left it in place.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You've mentioned that it had been 14 months before you can place weight on your --
ERIC WHALLEY: Be fully weightbearing, it was almost exactly 14 months.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So how long was it before you could actually walk again?
ERIC WHALLEY: I believe -- I would -- 16, 17 months.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you still dealing with issues related to your leg?
MS. CONRAD: Objection, your Honor, as previously noted.
THE COURT: Overruled.
You may answer it.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Are you still dealing with issues related to your leg?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah. It's sort of like a diabetic foot where you have reduced sort of sensation and feeling and you have to be careful what you tread on, like a nail or some sharp object because you wouldn't feel it. I have a significantly reduced range of motion and an ability to walk long distances, so, and the foot swells up significantly. So, you know, ambulating is like an incremental process. So you do a little bit and then you stop and then you do some more. It can be painful in the ankle area and it has stopped me sort of walking at times. We have good days and bad days. And that's the same for my wife.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And so as you mentioned with regard to your -- the brain injury, is there still an ongoing risk related to your leg?
ERIC WHALLEY: So because of the functions of the prefrontal cortex that is actually involved -- I won't go into all the details -- I am a little bit concerned about, you know, potential stroke risk, seizure risk. I was on anti-seizure medication for quite a while, six months or so, I think it was, before I was weaned off, and the memory processing. That area is involved in, you know, memory processing. So, you know, a little bit concerned about, you know, premature decline in cognitive function, to be perfectly honest.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: That's related to the head injuries?
ERIC WHALLEY: That's the head injuries, yeah.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And you've mentioned your ears were also --
ERIC WHALLEY: The ear -- so I had an ear transplant. They took fascia tissue, the connective tissue from my bicep muscle and remade an eardrum and surgically implanted it. And it was heavily infected, as I said. There was damage to the inner ear. And I have permanent tinnitus, which actually drives me crazy, and I have balance and vertigo issues, and they have not resolved. I have a significant hearing loss but that actually has gotten a little bit better. A little bit better.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Were you burned as well?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, I had -- 7 percent of my legs were affected.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'm sorry. How much percentage?
ERIC WHALLEY: Actually, it was 10 percent. 10 percent of the area of the legs were burned.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'd asked you a bit earlier, it may not have been clear, are there ongoing risks attendant to your limb, the leg that was salvaged?
ERIC WHALLEY: So the leg was salvaged. It still may have to be amputated for a variety of reasons, and it could relate to perfusion issues, the pain issues, and just pure intolerability.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You mentioned it was 14 months before you were able to put weight on the leg?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah, full weight.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: How long was it before your wife Ann was able to walk?
MS. CONRAD: Objection. Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Go ahead.
ERIC WHALLEY: Probably about six to seven months.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: In addition to the BB in your brain, do you still have other shrapnel in your body?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yes, I have quite a lot of shrapnel in the lower limbs, both legs.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how is that going to come out, or is it going to come out?
ERIC WHALLEY: They gradually work out to the surface. And I am considering having three in particular removed, which are sort of protruding a little bit. So I'm going to evaluate that with the surgeon.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And that's for the shrapnel that --
ERIC WHALLEY: That's just the shrapnel.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: The shrapnel that rises to the surface?
ERIC WHALLEY: Yeah.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You don't know where all the shrapnel is in your body?
ERIC WHALLEY: No.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: That's all I have, your Honor.
THE COURT: That's all you have? All right. Any cross-examination?
MS. CONRAD: No questions.
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Whalley. Thank you. You may step down.
(The witness is excused.)
THE COURT: We'll take the morning recess.
COURT CLERK: All rise for the Court and the jury. The Court will take the morning recess.
(The Court and jury exit the courtroom and there is a recess in the proceedings at 11:00 a.m.)
COURT CLERK: All rise for the Court and the jury.
(The Court and jury enter the courtroom at 11:43 a.m.)
COURT CLERK: Be seated.
THE COURT: Ms. Pellegrini?
MS. PELLEGRINI: The government calls Adrianna Haslet-Davis.