Blaine prepares for stunt finale
May 8, 2006
The 33-year-old has spent seven days submerged in a water-filled sphere in New York, sustained by oxygen and feeding tubes. Just before he emerges, Blaine will try to hold his breath for nine minutes and simultaneously escape heavy chains.
However doctors are concerned after the magician's hands became badly swollen.
The illusionist received medical treatment over the weekend after Blaine's spokesman, Pat Smith, said his peeling skin and overall condition was worrying doctors. "He is pushing his body insanely to the limits," said Dr. Murat Gunel, who headed Blaine's medical team. Gunel, an associate professor of neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine, and other medical experts, had monitored the 33-year-old illusionist's condition 24 hours a day.
"They're worried about loss of dexterity," Mr Smith said. "There is considerable concern about both his hands and his muscle tone." Gunel said the challenge had caused liver damage, sharp pains in Blaine's feet and hands, some loss of sensation and rashes all over his body. "I told him he needed to get out of the water, and he refused me," said Gunel. "He said he did not want to let the people down." Gunel said Blaine had agreed to allow researchers at Yale to examine him after the stunt to see what they could learn about how the body responds to an underwater environment.
In order to receive medical attention, Blaine stuck his hand out of a hole at the top of a tank, allowing doctors to remove specially created gloves, apply lotion and put on new gloves.
The Houdini-inspired stunt will be broadcast live on US television
The current world record for holding breath under water stands at eight minutes and 58 seconds.
The US showman shed 50lbs (23kg) in body weight to improve the efficiency with which his body uses oxygen, prior to embarking on the stunt. Prolonged submersion in water poses a number of hazards, including nerve damage, blackouts, sleep deprivation and skin problems. Blaine has said his skin is causing him pain "like constant pins and needles" after five days in the acrylic sphere.
A lack of adequate oxygen, especially after seven days underwater, also carries a risk of irreversible brain injury, according to medical experts.
Blaine's previous stunts include spending 61 hours inside a block of ice and fasting for 44 days in a perspex box over London's River Thames.