Young Oklahoma City bombing survivor needs lung operation

Friday, April 18th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- One of the youngest survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing is hoping a specialist in Cincinnati can fix his scorched lungs, but there's a holdup to the operation.

A foundation set up to help bombing survivors with medical expenses isn't willing to pay for nine-year-old PJ Allen's surgery unless four Oklahoma surgeons look in his lungs and decide they can't help him.

PJ's grandmother, Deloris Watson says the foundation also wants referrals from two other doctors.

Watson refuses to put her grandson through that, saying PJ could develop scar tissue from the procedure.

Officials who dole out the money wouldn't comment on PJ's case because of privacy laws.

PJ was 18 months old when the federal building was blown up by a truck bomb. He was one of six children to survive the blast that killed 168 people.