Doctors at Rio Grande Regional Hospital say 14-year-old Edson Amaro sustained massive injuries Dec. 12 when he and 13-year-old Nicholas Tijerina were shot.
The children were in a parking lot, converted to a basketball court, behind Harwell Middle School near Edinburg.
Doctors on Wednesday said the bullet that hit Amaro went through a kidney, plus his stomach, liver and a large vein. He underwent five hours of surgery.
Tijerina can't move his legs.
Rifles were seized from three men on adjacent ranchland. Nobody has been charged.
Investigators await ballistic test results on the bullet removed from Amaro.