Injured girl will have her spleen taken out
WAILUKU » A 2-year-old Maui girl who suffered life-threatening injuries from alleged child abuse is expected to undergo a third operation, this time to remove her spleen.
Shari Rodrigues remained under care at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children on Oahu, after a March 15 assault allegedly by her mother Tresia's boyfriend.
The boyfriend, Francisco "Frankie" Ramirez, 25, who lived with Tresia Rodrigues and Shari at a homeless shelter in West Maui, is scheduled to face trial on June 5 on a second-degree attempted-murder charge related to the alleged attack.
Ramirez, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, was being held on $200,000 bail in the assault and without bail in a separate case for an alleged parole violation.
Shari had surgery on March 15 to stop internal bleeding and underwent surgery Monday to repair the pancreas, her aunt Leanne Brickett said.
Brickett said the family had hoped to have Shari out of the hospital within the next two weeks but found out yesterday that she will have to have her spleen removed.
"They're also going to have to do something else regarding the pancreas in about a week," Brickett said.
Shari has had her paternal grandmother, Cheryl Luker, at her bedside since being moved to the hospital on Oahu, Brickett said.
Luker raised Shari in Kihei until last September, when the child was turned over to her mother, Brickett said.
Ramirez admitted he punched Shari in the abdomen when she gave him a disrespectful look, police detectives said.
Police said in addition to bleeding behind her right eye, a fractured skull and fractured ribs, Shari's pancreas was cut in half, and her small intestine was torn from her stomach.
Brickett said before the assault, Shari was an active child and enjoyed going to the beach with her cousins. She said since the assault, Shari has not been walking, and Luker takes her on little stroller rides.
Brickett said Shari used to be a "chatterbox" but now cannot talk like she once did, but still says "hi" a lot. "It is a good sign," Brickett said.
She said the family hopes there is no brain damage, and it is inconclusive at this time whether there is any brain damage. Donations to help Shari can be made to "Shari's Assistance Fund" at any Bank of Hawaii branch.