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Sleepless Blaine adjusts to life outside the box
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Wednesday, October 22, 2003
LONDON (REUTERS) — U.S. illusionist David Blaine spent a second sleepless night in a London hospital with stomach cramps as he tries to recover from 44 days of voluntary starvation in a Perspex box, his doctors said Tuesday.
Blaine’s medical team said in a statement the delicate reintroduction to food is going as planned. They expect him to remain in the hospital for the rest of the week but are hopeful he will make a full recovery.
A filthy, unshaven Blaine emerged late Sunday from his transparent prison hanging over the banks of the River Thames and broke down sobbing in front of thousands of onlookers.
Experts said the 30-year-old New Yorker, who insists he only consumed water while in the box, would have pushed his body to the limit.
Public reaction to the stunt was mixed.
Some female fans bared their breasts in admiration while “Blaine-baiters” pelted his box with eggs and even taunted him with a cheeseburger dangled from a miniature helicopter.
Sky TV and Channel 4 paid Blaine at least $1 million for broadcasting rights and had to pay for extra officers to police the stunt.
A 38-year-old man who scaled a tower to cut off Blaine’s water supply was fined $1,600, and a man will appear in court Wednesday, charged with hurling pink paint at Blaine’s box.
