Heart Patient, 13, Critical After Punch by Schoolmate

A 13-year-old boy who had a plastic valve placed in his heart two months ago was punched in the chest by a schoolmate and was in critical condition today, officials and relatives said.

Doctors had searched for a donor heart for a possible transplant but decided today that the boy had suffered too much brain damage after the attack to undergo such an operation.

Justin Charles Cupples collapsed Wednesday at Berg Junior High School in Newton, his family said.

“Charlie was hit on the chest by a fist,” said his father, Danny Cupples. “Most of the kids knew he had a heart valve and wasn’t supposed to get jarred, but this troublemaker apparently didn’t take it seriously and was showing off or something and trying to get Charlie to fight back.

‘Just Hanging On’

“If he could only see him now, just hanging on to life through tubes. His heart won’t even beat by itself.”

Charlie was being kept alive by a heart machine, said Bill Maurer at Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines.

The youth’s heart stopped during a helicopter ambulance flight from Newton to Des Moines on Wednesday night and there was some brain damage, authorities said. A surgical team worked 12 hours trying unsuccessfully to repair the damaged heart.

Newton police were investigating to determine if any charges should be filed against the other boy, who was not identified. Police Chief Michael Quinn declined further comment.